Bionicle: Demon's Keep
by Dragon Claw92
Summary: Seven years after the fall of Teridax, a new threat rises to power. Can the six Toa Mata bring an end to the new plague? Or will they too fall victim to the Visorak Horde? Only time will tell... Sequel to 'Seeking the Successors'.
1. Prologue

"Wh-what have you done to us…we trusted you! Protected you! Is this how you repay us?" Teridax laughed coldly as he looked at the six defeated figures before him, his gaze resting on the red haired man before him as he fought against the two Makuta who held him back.

"What did you expect, Norik?" The Master of Shadows mused. "Honor? Glory? Power, even? If you expected nobility and respect, you believed foolishly. Instead, you are doomed to face the rest of your lives, locked away where the secrets you know can never be heard by anyone who might pose a threat to my empire." He looked now to the Makuta who stood around the six fallen Toa, a smirk on his face as Norik was forced to his knees with a punch to his gut.

"Take them away. Make sure they never escape…and send Roodaka my gratitude for what she has done."

As the six figures were taken away, Norik looked his team over, tears rolling down his face. "I'm so sorry…" He said quietly, his voice shaky and full of remorse for what had happened to them. "I swear, if there was any way I could change this, I would go back and correct the errors of my belief." The woman with blue hair that was being forced onwards beside him looked over, and shook her head.

"This is not your fault, Norik…you had no way of seeing the signs that lead to our fate. We were warned already, and yet we all did not believe it. If anything, we should be apologizing to Kualas." She looked to the white-haired man near the front of the procession as she said this. "If only we had not been so blind…" She looked him over, tears rolling down her cheeks now as she looked over her icy Brother's new appearance. His clawed feet, the white feathers of his tail and the feathers on his arms that were long enough to enable flight… it all showed the cruelty of the situation they were faced with. Kualas turned and looked over at them, his icy blue eyes holding…determination? He had a plan, it seemed, despite their dark situation. Sharing various different expressions with them, Norik gave a slight nod, and without warning, lashed out at the Makuta behind him with everything he could muster. The rest of his team attacked as well, providing enough distraction for Kualas to break the chain on his shackles, freeing his hands up and heaving a punch at the nearest Makuta to him, knocking him against the wall and causing him to collapse against the floor.

"Kualas, run!" The brunette man shouted, managing to pin another of the Makuta to the wall with his sheer weight. The mutated Toa looked alarmed, and was about to argue, when Norik outright demanded.

"Just go! We'll catch up!" Nodding once, the feathered man turned and took off down the hall at a run, vanishing from sight. One by one, the Makuta were knocked down and left beaten in the hall as the remaining five beings took off down the hall after Kualas. The Rahaga had escaped…


	2. Chapter 1: The Arrival

"Are we there yet?"

"Not yet, Lewa. Have patience."

"Okay… How about now?" The red-haired man sighed, briefly looking at the fourteen year old beside him.

"Lewa, do you remember what I said about bothering people?" He asked, his tone bored and obviously tired of being questioned on the topic of location.

"Uhm… Don't?" The Toa of Air replied, blinking a few times as he pushed his forest green hair out of his face.

"That's exactly what I said." The boy grinned. "So can you kindly stop asking if we are there yet? There comes a point in time when even the most innocent of questions can be grating on a person's nerves." Lewa's smile vanished.

"Oh… Ever-sorry, Toa-Hero Lhikan. I wasn't mean-trying to bother you." He looked down at the ship deck awkwardly now, fidgeting with the corner of his light green vest sheepishly. After a few moments of silence, he looked up again and asked. "Permission to quick-ask a question?" Lhikan smiled, chuckling quietly as he nodded.

"Permission granted, Lewa." The Toa of Air grinned.

"Are we there yet?" The Toa Mangai twitched. Forcing himself to remain calm, he responded with a question of his own.

"Why don't you go check on the others? I'm sure just standing here is highly boring to you." Lewa shook his head, still grinning at the older Toa.

"I'm not dull-bored. Just wanting to get back home ever-quickly. I miss my family." The Toa Mangai sighed quietly, hesitating a few moments before responding gently.

"I'm sure you all do. It's been six years since we saw anyone from Metru Nui. You left everyone you loved behind so many years ago. I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you to do it. But now you will get to see them all again." Lewa nodded excitedly before looking ahead of the ship they were on. Eyes going wide, he let out a cheer of glee, though it sounded more like a girlish squeal.

"Oh my gosh! That's it! We're almost home!" Flailing his arms in a comical manner, the Toa of Air ran off to the ship's cabin area, leaving Lhikan to enjoy the silence that took the place of Lewa's noise as he left.

Lewa arrived in the crew cabin in time to hear Tahu ask, sounding exasperated. "Kopaka, are you afraid of anything anymore?" The Toa Mata of Ice responded without looking up from his book.

"Death." Pohatu, who'd been trying to read over his Brother's shoulder, blinked, and commented.

"You told me it was Tahu's cooking." A vague and faint smile crossed the white haired teen's pale face as he responded coolly.

"Same thing. Eating his cooking is murder." Onua choked on a quiet laugh, Pohatu grinned, and Gali quirked a faint smile. Tahu's face went scarlet as he glared at Kopaka irritably.

"Oh very funny." He snapped, sarcasm heavy in his words. "You're such a comedian."

"Better than a tragedy." Lewa decided to pipe up before anyone could continue the steadily declining situation.

"We're almost there! We're almost home! I sight-saw Metru Nui in the far-distance!" All eyes were on him now, even Kopaka's, who'd put his finger on the page he was reading so he wouldn't lose his place. Gali was the first to speak, sounding very excited.

"Really? We're almost home? Oh I can't wait to tell my family all about the past few years! I've learned so much that I just have to tell them!" Onua laughed quietly as he adjusted his green-tinted glasses.

"Gali, you would share your wisdom and knowledge with a rock if it had ears to hear it. But yes, I am sure they would love to hear everything you've learned." Lewa blinked suddenly, his face paling as a thought came to him.

"Wh-what if they forgot about us? O-or don't recognize us?" He sniffled before wailing out. "I don't want to be lost-forgotten!" Pohatu laughed openly at this and grinned.

"Lewa, you are the sort of person that nobody could forget, even if they wanted to." Tahu snickered, leaning over to Onua and commenting cheekily.

"But is that a good thing, I wonder."

"Hey! That's not kind-nice! I can listen-hear you still you know!" Kopaka rolled his eyes as Onua laughed, poking Tahu lightly. With a jovial grin on his face, the Toa of Earth commented.

"Tahu, my Brother, you just got told off by the youngest person here. I hate to be rude, but to put it plain, he owned you, albeit not very strongly." Kopaka snorted irritably as he closed his book and headed out of the cabin, of to the deck, grumbling about people being too noisy for concentration to be allowed. Gali watched him as he went past, a small smile on her face as she did so. Tahu smirked at him when he noticed it.

"Aww, you like him don't you?" He teased, a cocky gleam in his bright red eyes. The fourteen year old girl blinked, looking flustered and mildly irritated as she replied, frowning somewhat.

"Only as a friend. He's far more mature than you could ever be. And at least he makes it a hobby to read books. You probably haven't read a book this whole time unless Toa Lhikan outright told you to." With that said, she headed outside, Onua and Tahu eventually following her out. Lewa looked at Pohatu now.

"Are you going to come up-out too, Stone-Brother?" The brunette shook his head.

"Nah, I'll stay in here. I get seasick really easily. Probably better for all of us if I stay down here so nobody gets worried about me." Lewa nodded understandingly.

"True-fair enough. I can loud-call you when we get there. Shouldn't be too ever-long now." And with a grin, he headed outside.

When he got there, however, it didn't take long for the Toa of Air to realize there was a problem. The fact alone that everyone was as silent as Kopaka proved this without even needing to look at their faces. Feeling uneasy, Lewa looked around, his gaze falling to the heavy fog that hovered over Metru Nui like a thick blanket of smoke.

"Why is it so fog-heavy?" He asked with obvious discomfort at the present situation. "It was never this way before…" Kopaka frowned, using his scope to get a closer look.

"Fog is normally a sign of heavy condensation in the air." He said grimly. "But like Lewa pointed out, this is far heavier than it normally would be. The fact that it covers the whole of the island, as far as I can tell, only leads me to assume that this was either brought about by severe changes in atmospheric pressure, or that it is exceedingly thick and heavy smoke." He noticed the bewildered expressions on the other four teens' faces, and added.

"To put it simply, fog like this can't be normal, or a good sign." An awkward silence followed, broken only by Toa Lhikan, his tone uncertain and on edge.

"I want all of you to go back in the cabin until I come for you. Is that clear?" The five children nodded. "Good. Head inside right now." He didn't need to tell them twice. Soon they were all huddled up at the small table in the middle of the cabin.

"So…" Pohatu asked awkwardly. "Now what do we do? Why did Toa Lhikan send you back in here anyway?" Onua grimaced as he fidgeted his thumbs.

"There's a really thick fog hanging over Metru Nui." He explained. "He sounded really unhappy about it too. Something's not right, and it's not just the weather. I can feel it." Tahu grumbled irritably, though mild nervousness was visible in his eyes.

"The only thing I feel right now is a little bit hungry. Anyone got a snack they don't want?" Gali shot him a faint scowl.

"This is serious, Tahu. Our island could be in danger. This fog could be a warning of dangers that moved in while we are away. It's been six years since we were here, after all. Anything could have happened while we were gone." Onua nodded his agreement, walking over to his travel chest and taking out a peculiar set of gloves. Sliding them on, he commented sagely.

"I recommend that we arm ourselves. Whatever's going on out there is bound to drag trouble in its wake." Kopaka already had his shield and sword slung across his back, his expression a grim one. Lewa stumbled over to his own trunk, pulling out an ornately designed, single-headed axe.

By the time they were all geared up and ready, their ship had run aground. However, Lhikan never came. Pohatu shuddered a little as he fumbled with his Kolhii ball, looking nervous.

"Shouldn't he have come down here by now?" Tahu frowned, nodding faintly as he quietly walked over to the cabin door, debating if he should go out or not.

"Yeah… Does anyone else thing that something really bad is about to happen?" Kopaka moved closer as well, a small frown on his face.

"About to, or already did." Gali looked uneasy.

"What should we do?" She asked quietly. Her icy Brother glanced at her, his expression grave.

"The only thing we can do. We have to go out there and find out what's wrong." And before anyone could stop him, the white-haired boy vanished from sight, heading out onto the deck.


	3. Chapter 2: Welcome Home

"Kopaka wait!" There was no response. Gali shivered, her hands trembling as she stared out into the fog. She couldn't see him anywhere. "Kopaka come back!" Still nothing. Where was he? Panic rising in her heart, she gingerly stepped out of the cabin, Pohatu close behind her as she ascended the small flight of steps that lead onto the ship deck. Just barely visible in the gloom ahead of her, Gali could see Kopaka's silhouette, crouched beside a mass on the deck nearby. Cautiously she drew nearer, the four others following as she approached. The closer she got, the darker the wood panels beneath her got, turning more and more crimson with each footfall. By the time she had reached Kopaka's side, she had figured out, much to her horror, just what the mass was, and after staring at Lhikan's lifeless frame for a few, gut-wrenching seconds…

She let out a scream. Tahu quickly silenced her, covering her mouth with his hand as he stared, wide-eyed, at the body of their former mentor. Pohatu's face turned a sickly green color as he nearly vomited, turning away quickly and squeezing his eyes shut. Lewa collapsed onto his knees, too terrified and sickened to do anything else. Onua was the only one capable of speaking, his voice shaky and quiet.

"How… How did this happen?" Kopaka shivered faintly, shaking his head as though wishing this was a nightmare he could wake up from. Finally, the Toa Mata of Ice found his voice.

"S-some sort o-of Rahi I think… A Rahi with a grasp o-of the Matoran language… Look on his back." His hand trembling, Kopaka moved the ripped remains of Lhikan's shirt, revealing two roughly carved words.

'Welcome home'

"Welcome home?" Onua repeated, his voice holding obvious unease at the situation. "What sort of sick joke is this? And I've never heard of a Rahi that could decipher, read, and write, actual words like this." He turned, looking up at the small cliff face in front of the ship. Barely visible in the fog, the remains of old buildings could be seen, looking like broken teeth against the horizon. Shivering at the sight of it, he added.

"Just what happened here anyway? It's like the apocalypse happened and we missed it."

"Well, whatever happened," Tahu managed to whisper loudly. "I think we should get away from the boat… whatever killed Toa Lhikan is bound to be close by. I'd rather not run into that thing right now…" Pohatu gagged quietly as he shakily pulled Lewa to his feet, crimson stains now evident on the boy's pant legs.

"Good idea…" Pohatu said, voice trembling as he spoke. "We need to f-find somewhere we can take sh-shelter. Somewhere we c-can defend if we have to." Tahu lowered his hand from Gali's mouth now, expression fearful as he stammered.

"B-but where? The Great Temple is too open, the Coliseum is too creepy, and my place would be too small." Gali whimpered, tears streaming down her pale face as she stared at Lhikan's body. He had been their teacher and guide for the last six years of their lives, and now, with no clue or hint of who did it, he was gone, leaving them virtually stranded on an island that no longer felt like home. Finally regaining her voice, the girl suggested, her voice barely louder than a quavering and uncertain whisper.

"What about a Ta-Metru forge? B-besides, if we find someone along the way, maybe we c-can find out what happened and why it's so f-foggy now…" Kopaka grimaced notably.

"It could be dangerous, but it's the only reasonable choice that I can see so far. Even if a forge isn't easy to defend, we'll still have supplies that we can use to our advantage." Taking one last look at Lhikan's body and shaking his head, the Toa of Ice turned and climbed over the ship rail, dropping to the rocky sand below. Gali and the others followed closely, not wanting to be separated and wind up losing someone else as well.

Ascending the roughly hewn steps that'd been carved into the cliff wall, it became clear to all six of them that the chance of finding anyone of a savory nature would be as likely as turning lead into gold. As far as the eye could see, buildings and monuments lay in severe disrepair, and the once clean and bustling streets of Le-Metru were now strewn with rubble and debris. As the Toa Mata looked around, horrified by the apocalyptic scene before them, Lewa said, his voice shaky and weak.

"They're gone… Wh-where did everyone go? What happen-caused them all to leave? Why is Le-Metru so broken-shattered?" Pohatu swallowed, orange eyes wide as he surveyed the destruction. Trying and failing to sound optimistic, the fifteen year old suggested.

"Maybe they moved closer to the Coliseum and this district was just abandoned?" Kopaka glanced at him with a predominately blank expression on his face.

"Nice try," He said emotionlessly, obviously trying to cover up his own worry. "But it'll take more than half-hearted words to make this better." Tahu shot him a scowl.

"At least he tried. I don't see you doing anything to make things better." The icy Toa's eyes narrowed as he scanned the area with his eyepiece, taking a closer look at everything around them. Ignoring Tahu completely, the boy's gaze slowly moved upwards… falling to the thick strands of unnaturally large web that was strung between the ruined buildings on either side. Finally he spoke again.

"There is a difference between trying and actually pulling it off, just as there is a time to panic, and not to panic. Right now might just be the time to panic." Onua looked at him quizzically, trying to figure out what the problem was.

"Why?" It didn't take long for him to find out. Without anything to give warning, what appeared to be glowing disks of energy hurtled past their heads from all around them. Gali screamed, dropping to the ground in order to avoid getting shot. Onua grabbed Pohatu, pulling the younger boy to the street as at least five disks crashed together where his head had just been. Tahu activated his mask ability, a bright red energy shield forming around him like a translucent dome. Kopaka ducked down against a crescent shaped piece of rubble, his shield held over his head and a barrier of ice sealing him inside.

It was then that Lewa took flight. Rocketing into the foggy air, the green-haired boy vanished from sight, the energy disks all heading after him as whatever was attacking gave chase. The remaining five stared after him, each wide-eyed and looking nervous. Onua was the first to stand, shakily adjusting his glasses as he did so. Why had Lewa taken off like that? Was it stress? Emotional trauma? Something else? What worried him the most was the fact that the Toa of Air was now on his own where nobody could follow him. The other four teens stood up now, each with varying levels of worry in their eyes. Gali managed to find her voice.

"Wh-where'd he go? I…I can't see him anywhere!" Kopaka rolled his eyes before trying to peer through the fog around them.

"Well spotted." He muttered sarcastically. "Hurrah for stating the obvious thought we all share." Pohatu frowned and was about to rebuke Kopaka for his comment…

When a faint scream echoed to them. Lewa had been caught.


	4. Chapter 3: The Fallen One

Gali's face went white as Lewa's scream echoed around them, her body going temporarily rigid. Was Lewa to face the same fate that Lhikan had? Were the Toa Mata doomed to be picked off, one by one, while attempting to traverse the island they had once called home? Without even thinking or caring about the consequences of her spur-of-the-moment decision, she took off, running down the street and looking every which way for the endangered Toa of Air. Pohatu ran after her, stumbling over bits of debris as he tried to catch her before she landed in trouble as well.

"Gali come back!" He shouted, not really thinking about the fact that it was bound to draw unwanted attention to him. His Sister didn't even acknowledge that she had been called. Something in the shadows to Gali's left briefly became more noticeable, catching Pohatu's attention. Eyes widening a little, he sped up, reaching Gali just in time to knock her out of the way as the creature lunged, hitting Pohatu instead and pinning the teen down.

This being was unlike any Rahi he'd ever seen before. Resembling a bipedal reptile, its muscular body was covered with scales, those on its chest fiery orange, and the rest ruby red. Five claw-like fingers gripped down on Pohatu's upper arms like vices, and from what he could see of the creature's feet, they were quite similar to those of a rock raptor. Its long, almost serpentine tail lashed side to side every now and again, and the creature's bright red eyes held animosity and rage.

But the things about this bizarre Rahi that startled Pohatu the most, were the ragged and unkempt, dusty red, shoulder-length hair… and the fact that the creature's face, other than the scales that covered it, looked strikingly like a slightly older rendition of Toa Vakama. Pohatu blinked several times as he stared up into the creature's face, horrified and severely confused. After several moments of silent confusion, the Toa of Stone managed to find his voice.

"T-Toa Vakama?" The Rahi blinked, hesitating for a few moments as though trying to make sense of the fifteen year old's question. And then, hoarse and quiet, the creature gave a reply.

"You shouldn't have come back, Pohatu. Because of your foolishness, your entire group is going to die, just like Toa Lhikan did. Even if I'm the one who has to do it all." The pinned boy gulped, eyes widening even more.

"Vakama, wh-what's going on? What happened t-to you? Wh-where are the others? Why are you d-doing this?" The mutated Toa smirked darkly, his grip tightening.

"Why should I tell you if you're just going to die anyway?" Out of the corner of his eye, Pohatu could see Gali, utterly terrified and crying into Tahu's shoulder as Onua moved in.

"Because," The Toa of Stone replied quietly. "I want to know what happened to the one I looked up to when I die. Is it really so hard to give me that before it's all over?" Vakama was about to respond, when he was forcibly pulled off by Onua, tearing Pohatu's skin with his already bloodied claws as he went. Slamming the mutant against a nearby wall, the Toa of Earth growled.

"So Kopaka was right. You really did change… Lhikan was your father, Vakama. He loved you, even though he couldn't raise you. Is this how you think a Toa would act?" Vakama coughed when he hit the wall, and spat in Onua's face once he had his breath back. Pohatu was staring at his Brother in confusion.

"Y-you knew what was going to happen? Why didn't you tell anyone?" Onua shifted as he sighed, and replied grimly.

"Because I did not believe Kopaka when he told me. He'd been trying to read the stars, and said he thought they had shown him the Toa Metru warping into hideous beasts, and that someone would betray us. I didn't believe him because it seemed like complete foolishness to me, but now…" He sighed again, shaking his head as he let go of Vakama and wiped the saliva off of his face, rubbing it off onto his pant leg. Looking Vakama over with a tired and somewhat pained expression, he said quietly.

"Get out of my sight. You are no Toa. Not after what you did to Toa Lhikan. Not after what you did to us." The Mutated twenty-six year old flinched, suddenly going limp and sliding down the wall into a sitting position. The feral, blood-lusting gleam faded from his eyes, now replaced with fear and uncertainty.

"Onua, Pohatu… please listen to me." He panted out quietly. "I can't control myself anymore. The things I say, the choices I make… it's not me. There isn't much time left. The other Toa Metru are still mostly sane, but they're trapped. I know there are still people free that are hiding in the city. Find them. They will be more help than I am."

"What about Lewa?" Pohatu asked worriedly. "Is he going to be alright?" Vakama shuddered.

"I don't know. If I could, I would help, but as it is I have to put as much distance between us as I can for now. I'm too dangerous to be around anymore anyways. I'll do what I can, but I fear it won't be enough." Onua shushed him, pulling the mutant to his feet.

"What you've told us is more than enough, Brother. Stay safe, and hold to the three Virtues." Vakama nodded faintly, mustering a very small smile.

"You too, Onua. And… if possible… d-don't tell anyone that I killed Toa Lhikan…" The boy gave a faint smile of his own.

"You didn't, Vakama. The monster that took over your mind did. Now go, don't let the darkness stop you from seeing the light." The twenty-six year old gave another slight nod, turned, and took off, vanishing into the gloom as though he were a phantom. Pohatu looked at Tahu and Gali, only noticing now that there was an absence of Kopaka.

"Don't tell me he got snatched too." He half said, half whined. Tahu shook his head.

"He decided to climb a building to try and see where Lewa went." Onua frowned slightly.

"And you didn't stop him?"

"You try stopping a psychopath with a sharp sword." Onua sighed, muttering under his breath about Tahu calling the kettle black before saying a little more loudly.

"Okay, which building did he climb up?"

"Uh… I don't know?" Onua's finger twitched slightly, though his expression remained mostly calm.

"Well, which way did he go then?" Tahu turned and looked at the buildings. After debating long enough to give reason to doubt his even having a faint clue, the Toa of Fire responded with blatant uncertainty, pointing at one of the buildings.

"That way, I think…" Onua rolled his eyes, brushing his hair out of his face absently.

"You, Gali, and Pohatu stay here, or at least stay together. I'm going to go find Kopaka, or whatever's left of him." Tahu started spluttering in protest, but by the time he managed to spit out actual words, Onua was already out of sight.

The sudden sound of clicking echoed to the three remaining Toa Mata now, and after several moments of looking around wildly, they realized that they were outnumbered, and surrounded. Pohatu glanced at his Brother and Sister, obvious worry in his eyes as he said.

"Sorry to state the obvious here, but we're in serious trouble." Gali shivered, gripping her sickle-like hooks tighter as she watched at least six spider-like creatures come into view, their eyes glowing brightly and their massive pincers clicking ominously, like out-of-time metronomes. Swallowing, she looked around, only to see even more of the foul, four-legged arachnids closing in from all sides.

"Any ideas guys?" She asked quietly, her tone betraying her nervousness. Pohatu cringed slightly as he shook his head, taking a defensive stance as he did so.

"Nothing that doesn't involve screaming or having a severe panic attack." He replied awkwardly. "What about you, Tahu?" The Toa of Fire grimaced, looking over their opponents, and the area around them. Slowly, his expression turned from a worried one to a determined one.

"Yeah, I've got one." Pohatu looked relieved.

"Great. So, what's the plan?"

"Very destructive."


	5. Chapter 4: Catch and Release

Panic rippled through Lewa as he hung there, tears streaming down his paling face as he fought to pull himself free of the thick webs he'd flown into. Now stuck with his back facing his attackers and his axe hanging on his belt where he couldn't reach it, he knew full well that this was a very bad situation to be stuck in. If only he could get his hand free! He fought harder, his breathing uneven and shallow as he managed only to shake the sticky material that held him like a fly on flypaper. It was then that he heard the clicking. With every passing moment is grew louder and louder, which only made the panicking Toa Mata even more terrified than he already was. As a last resort try to get free, the fourteen year old started beating his wings frantically, but no matter how much stress he put on the web, it held fast. Too terrified to do anything else, Lewa let out an ear-splitting scream, now crying harder than ever before.

Suddenly, stabbing pain shot through him as what felt like sharpened spearheads punctured the skin on either side of his torso, just below his ribcage. The Toa's body went rigid, twitching and jerking violently every now and then as he choked and gasped for air. In a matter of moments, the boy went limp, his body numb and his mind phasing out of clarity and into a hazy tiredness that demanded him to close his eyes and succumb to the unnatural drowsiness. Struggling to stay awake, he could barely make out the blurry shape of whatever captured him as it steadily bound the rest of his weak and presently numb body with web, intending to trap him for good within the confines of a cocoon. It wasn't long before all that remained of his 'window of vision' was barely even a foot long, and half a foot wide. The clicking by now was drowning out as though his ears were submerged in water.

The web shook a bit now, and the creature that was stringing Lewa up vanished from sight. The shaking grew more violent for several seconds, and was followed by a hissing noise that faded away, as though it was pulled out of range. After a few moments longer, something moved into Lewa's view, blocking the little bit of light he had been able to see. A distant, yet familiar voice spoke, the web still shaking around somewhat.

"Lewa… Lewa, can you hear me?" The green eyed boy blinked sleepily, trying to focus on the voice.

"Kopaka…" He mumbled faintly. "Is…is that you? C-can't see…so tired…" The voice responded as the cocoon ripped a little, opening the 'window' a bit more.

"Yes, it's me. Just stay quiet for now and don't move. Balancing isn't easy up here as it is, and I don't need you jerking around and making it worse." Lewa had to remember just why losing balance where they were was a bad idea, but it soon came to mind, and he opened his mouth to speak. A cold hand covered it before the Toa of Air could talk, however, and said, his tone mildly irritated.

"I said stay quiet. The less you do and say, the better off we are." More of the cocoon was ripped away, and Lewa slumped forwards, nearly knocking Kopaka off the two strands of webbing that he was balancing on. Catching the Toa of Air and pulling his weak frame closer, Kopaka soon discovered that he had a serious problem. How was he supposed to get down safely, with Lewa's numb body, without getting killed, caught, or knocked off the rope-like material. The web started to shake again, almost throwing the precariously balanced Toa of Ice and his barely conscious Brother off the thick strands and down to the hazard-strewn ground. Lewa dazedly tried to look around.

"Why is everything quake-shaking… What's going on?" Kopaka grimaced, struggling to shift his weight according to the moving of the web. It was then that he got an idea.

"Lewa, activate your mask power. See if you can get off me." The Toa of Air struggled with this. Making him focus on something for extended periods of time was hard enough as it was, but throwing dazed and sedated into the mix made it seem impossible. That is, until Kopaka threatened him with grave severity.

"If you don't and we make it out of this alive, I'll tell the others that you were crying." Lewa shivered faintly, squeezing his eyes shut as he forced himself to concentrate. After a few moments, the Toa's eyes began glowing, and his limp frame floated off of Kopaka's shoulder, hovering nearby.

"I think it's help-aiding in waking me up, Toa-Brother…" He said quietly. "I'm not as dizzy or light-haze minded…"

"Well that's encouraging." The Toa of Ice muttered, readying his sword and shield as the first of the massive, spider-like creatures moved into view. Thinking fast, Kopaka tapped his blade on one of the webs, coating it with ice and sending the creature sliding off and down into the street, barely visible through the fog. Clicking now came from up above, alerting him of the oncoming hazard. Reacting fully on impulse, he slashed at the creature that hung barely even a foot or two above his head… only to miss and throw himself off balance. Scrambling to get himself steady once more, he ended up falling off, fingers barely managing to catch hold of the thick material. Now hanging by the arm he normally carried his shield on, the Toa Mata was an open target, and he knew it.

It was then that several pale green feathers floated down past Kopaka's face. Looking up in alarm, it soon became clear what the problem was, though why it was happening was unknown. Lewa's wings were moulting at an unnaturally fast rate, and every now and then a small patch of the boy's skin would fall away with the feathers. The Toa of Air whimpered in pain as more feathers and pieces of shrivelling flesh fell away. It didn't take long until all that was left of the now crying and moaning Toa's wings were the barely connected bones, which fell away after a sickening, popping noise, followed by an agonized wail that escaped Lewa's lips.

Unfortunately, this distraction had been just long enough for the spider-like Rahi to close in, leaving Kopaka with one of two fates; to either fall to his likely death, or remain where he was, helpless, and to be strung up the same way Lewa had. Sheathing his sword, the Toa of Ice tried to pull himself up onto the web again, only to have his hand slip, nearly making him let go completely. Up above, Lewa started coughing, and the droplets of crimson that splattered against Kopaka's shield indicated all too clearly that he was coughing up blood. The spider-like beings clicked and chattered as one moved closer, nearly standing over the dangling Toa of Ice.

"Lewa, a little help would be…" He didn't even get to finish his sentence, as the fourteen year old hovering above him suddenly dropped, falling on the web his Brother was hanging onto, and snapping it. With a yell of shock, Kopaka found himself swinging uncontrollably towards a large wall. Barely having time to even brace himself for the impact, the Toa of Ice coughed loudly as he hit it and let go of the web, falling towards the rubble-strewn street below. Too dazed to even cry out, Kopaka closed his eyes, waiting for the landing that would most likely spell out death in his own blood. But he never hit the ground.

Gasping for breath as his drop was abruptly halted by something large and scaly wrapping around him, the fifteen year old opened his eyes, and saw the ground slowly seeming to drop away, becoming shrouded in the fog and vanishing from sight. Looking at himself as best he could at the moment, he saw that most of his frame was gripped in the claws of a pale, silver-blue scaled creature, though he couldn't even begin to guess what his new captor was. He could also hear the steady, rhythmic beat of wings somewhere above him, proving even further that this being was some sort of Rahi, or at least something like one. Questions flooded Kopaka's mind faster than he could sort through them. What was holding him? Where was it going? Could it speak? What was it? However, instead of asking these, the Toa asked dazedly.

"Where is Lewa?" He got no reply. "Where are you taking me?" Still nothing. Giving up on getting an intelligible answer, Kopaka closed his eyes and started to drift off to sleep…

Only to end up jolting awake moments later as he lightly dropped onto a cracked and rather dusty floor. Shakily pushing himself to his feet, the white-haired boy felt a firm hand grip his shoulder, turning his frame as though the owner was giving him a thorough looking over. Eventually he got to see who owned the pale skinned hand… and discovered it belonged to the white-feathered creature that'd saved him seven years ago. Shivers rippled down his spine as he surveyed the being's features in clear detail.

He wore a smoke colored hoodie without sleeves, allowing the long, pearly white flight feathers on his arms to fully show, as well as the peculiar mutations that effected his elbows, making them double jointed. The hood of his vest was up over his head, hiding his hair and forehead, mostly, from view. Silvery white hair vaguely framed what could be seen of his pale face and a light grey cloth concealed everything from the tip of his nose to the base of his neck, where his hoodie's neckline was. The creature's hands were very much like a regular person's hands, as were most of his legs, as far as Kopaka could see, but somewhere below his knees, they changed, resembling the talons of a falcon or hawk, covered with light yellow scales. He wore a pair of faded blue jeans, ripped off at three quarters down his pant leg. His tail feathers were easily noted as well, long and as white as the ones on his arms.

At this closeness, two things were prominent in particular to the fifteen year old. First was the creature's height. While Kopaka was already pushing six feet tall, the being before him was almost head-and-shoulders taller, something that he found alarming. The other feature was the feral blue color in the creature's eyes. The shape and color looked so familiar, and yet, somehow foreign. After staring into the creature's eyes for several moments, Kopaka asked finally.

"What are you? Who are you?" For a little while, his questions went unanswered, until, after seeming to think it through, he replied.

"Those are questions that would mean little at the present time. Your Brother, Lewa, is of far more importance right now." As he spoke, it could be noted that he occasionally made clicking and whistling noises, like a bird.

"But I don't even know why you saved me seven years ago! I don't even know anything about you!"

"Toa Kopaka," He responded with firm and serious tones. "My motives aren't of importance right now. Your Brother is dying because of the Visorak. His life is far more important than pointless facts you can't even use." He put his hands on the Toa's shoulders and started leading him away.

"Can you at least tell me what's going on?" He asked, desperate for answers.

"I will soon enough. Just have patience."


	6. Chapter 5: The Hunt Begins

A faint smile crossed Pohatu's face when he heard Tahu's answer. He liked the sounds of this already. "Sounds like fun. What do you want me to do?"

"See that chunk of rock in front of you?" Tahu asked quietly. The brunette nodded. "You're going to kick that into the side of that old Toa Lhikan monument near those spider things in front of you. Try to hit low." He then glanced at Gali. "I need you to blast that stone pillar in front of you. See if you can knock it down." She nodded, paused, and then asked.

"What are you going to do?" He grinned.

"I'm going to start some fires. Hopefully Onua will be back by then to give us some help with whatever's still alive. Gali looked worried.

"And if he doesn't come back?" He grimaced as he thought it over. Finally he replied.

"We run. He said to stay together, and running might be the only chance we have if there's still some left over from the chaos. I don't think he'd want us to wait for him after an attack. Besides, he's strong enough to hold is own until we meet up again somewhere." Pohatu looked sketchy on his plan's 'what if' part.

"I hope you're right Tahu. I don't want to leave him unless we have no other choice. Anyway, let's get this party started, shall we?" He ran forward, kicking the piece of rubble as hard as he could, launching it towards the statue at incredible speed, and taking out at least one spider-like creature in the process. With a tremendous crack, the monument was hit with the force of an oversized cannonball, and began to crack before toppling forward and crushing everything in its path, narrowly missing Pohatu by mere centimetres as he took a step back.

Gali on the other hand had opened fire on the pillar with every drop of water that she could muster. Rocks chipped and split under the amount of pressure the unleashed liquid was exerting, and after several shots, the pillar collapsed, rocks and other bits of debris showering down on the arachnid Rahi like massive hailstones, effectively squashing a good portion of those that'd been in range. The ones that survived were launched into a frenzied panic, crawling over each other to try and get out of the way before they met the same fate.

Seeing the panic that Pohatu and Gali had stirred up, Tahu took this chance to set fire to several strands of web that trailed along the buildings around them. Fog was replaced by acrid smelling smoke as the flames licked and scorched their new-found fuel, spreading up the crumbling ruins and onto the webs above. The spiders scattered, trying to outrun the raging inferno that had formed. Only now did Tahu realize his mistake. With nothing else to hold some of the buildings up, they began to crumble and collapse, raining down rubble and debris on the three Toa Mata. With nothing else he could do, Tahu took hold of their hands and started running.

"Effective move." Pohatu said awkwardly as he and Gali hurried along-side the Toa of Fire. "But now there's nothing to stop them from falling on us too!" Tahu shivered a little, gasping as a large segment of wall hit the ground just a foot or two in front of them. Nearly tripping over it instead of jumping onto it, the panicking Toa of Fire managed to regain enough of his composure to stammer out.

"I didn't know everything would try to fall down on us! The buildings seemed a little sturdier than that!" Gali glanced up and let out a panic-filled scream. Falling down over top of the trio was a huge section of wall, which appeared to have torn a few other parts down with it. Looking up as well, Tahu's eyes widened with shock and fear. There was no way they could avoid it in time, and his mask power only formed a shield around one person! Pohatu tripped when he looked up, pulling Tahu and Gali down with him by accident… but when they hit the ground, a black, swirling mass engulfed them, spitting them out on the roof of a sturdier building a decent distance away from their previous location. Groaning as he pushed himself into a sitting position, Tahu asked dazedly, a curious and highly confused expression on his face.

"What happened?" Gali whimpered, huddling up close to her Brothers as she looked around.

"I don't know, b-but he might…" Hand trembling, she pointed out a tall figure in a black cloak, standing near the edge of the roof and seemingly watching the fire as it spread destruction through the district. Tahu grimaced.

"I don't know, Sis. He, she, whatever it is, doesn't look like the sort of person we want to associate with…" The figure apparently heard him, because he laughed and said, his voice a little deeper than normal, and slightly smoky in sound.

"Like it or not, kid, you're already stuck with me. Besides, I'm your only safe way off the roof. So why don't you start off with your name. Who are you?"

"His name is Tahu." A female's voice said from a makeshift shelter closer to the center of the roof. "His companions are Gali and Pohatu." The three teenagers blinked, each one staring at the shelter with surprise. Just barely visible from behind the curtain-like door, they could make out the frame of another cloaked person who seemed to be watching them closely. The man in the black robe hesitated and turned, striding towards them and asking.

"Is this true?" Tahu swallowed.

"Y-yes sir. That's us… but who are you? And who is your…" He stopped mid-question as the man removed his hood, revealing well tanned skin, ruby red eyes, and shoulder-length black and red hair that was pulled back into a loose ponytail. With a faint smile forming on his lips, he responded.

"Is that enough to answer your questions, Tahu?" Gali smiled weakly as she stood up, closed the gap between them, and hugged Mihkoro, tears streaming down her face and drenching the older Toa's shirt.

"Why didn't you say goodbye to us when you left? We all really missed you…" Mihkoro gently ruffled her hair as he returned her hug with one of his own.

"Because little kids really don't need to see a grown man crying. It's just embarrassing for everyone. But enough about that. Presently I've been taking care of Nuju's family since they are in rough shape. The boy was a right mess when I found him." Pohatu blinked, looking curious and somewhat excited.

"Dude, Nuju's got kids?" Mihkoro smiled a little bit and nodded.

"Yes. He has a four year old son, and probably couldn't be more proud of the fact than he already is." Gali suddenly thought of something. Looking at the shelter curiously, she asked.

"Is Toa Nuju here as well?" The darker Toa's smile faded into a slight frown. Sighing, he turned his head to look around, not wanting to answer the question. "…Mihkoro?" Finally he gave her a response.

"No, Gali. He was brought down by the Visorak a week ago, trying to save Matau and Whenua. He was the last of the Toa Metru to fall victim. Now the only one that seems to be alive is Vakama, and he went psychotic. As far as I see it, he's more demented than Xuli was when she died." He shivered as he seemed to recall the event. Shakily letting go of Gali, he moved his back to the three Toa Mata as he sighed and shook his head. "She didn't deserve what happened to her… In any case, go on into the shelter and rest. I'll keep watch." If any of the three had wanted to press the matter, they wisely decided against it, and did as they were told.

The interior of the makeshift dwelling wasn't much more appealing than the outside was. With a tarp, or what was left of one, for a roof, hastily put together walls, and musty blankets that were obviously scavenged used for bedding, the only redeeming feature was the small candle on a board in the center of the tiny abode. Sitting beside one of the beds was a woman in her late twenties. Her hair was short and poorly shaped, obvious signs of a hasty job. Her skin was a slightly pale peach, and her eyes a dull, orange-red, looking lost and near the point of losing hope. A man's grey, trench-coat sort of jacket was draped over her shoulders, and her slender, delicate fingers were fidgeting absently with a gold colored wedding ring she was wearing. AS the three teens entered, she mustered a faint smile and said, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Thank Mata Nui that you are still alive… it's nice to see slightly familiar faces after everything that's been happening." Pohatu managed a small smile of his own.

"It's good to see you too, Toa Kaidihka. I…I'm glad to see you are still okay." He quietly walked over and sat at the end of the bed she was beside, his smile growing a little as he looked at the pale skinned four year old that was in it. "He's cute, I'll admit that." Kaidihka gave a weak smile.

"Yes, he is… I can only hope that he'll get his father's courage and mind." She shook her head a little. "He still doesn't fully understand that Nuju is gone…" She sniffled quietly and wiped a few stray tears off of her very faintly glowing face. Tahu moved closer, putting a hand on one of hers.

"I promise we'll find Toa Nuju and bring him back." He said, his voice quiet, yet determined. "I won't let your son grow up fatherless. Not when I have a chance to stop it." Gali nodded her agreement.

"And I know Pohatu and I will do everything we can to make that happen." She paused, thinking a while before asking. "What's your son's name anyway?" Kaidihka smiled weakly again as she looked at the sleeping boy.

"I named him Matoro. It's funny in a way, because after I told Nuju what the name was, he said something about a person named Matoro who would eventually save the world, and that the stars had shone brighter than normal when our son was born." She was about to say more, when Mihkoro entered the shelter, looking worried.

"We have to leave. Now." Kaidihka gave a slight nod as she stood and started packing up some of the blankets. Pohatu looked curiously at Mihkoro as she did this.

"Why? What's happening out there?" The answer was grim and urgent, betraying the dark Toa's unease and fear.

"They found us."


	7. Chapter 6: What You Know

Despite not knowing fully who 'they' were, Tahu felt an overwhelming sense of dread rising up within him. Finding his voice as Mihkoro moved closer to where Nuju's child lay, the Toa of Fire asked.

"Who is 'they' exactly? Why are they chasing you?" Mihkoro frowned somewhat as he shifted his weight a little.

"They are the Visorak. I can explain it easier when we aren't trying to find somewhere new to find shelter." He glanced at Gali. "Please help Kaidihka. The sooner we can get out of here, the better." As the Toa of Water quickly obeyed, Mihkoro bundled up Matoro and picked him up. Now looking at Tahu and Pohatu, he said.

"Try and give us a little more time. I'll come out and help as soon as I can, but I have to make sure that Matoro is healthy enough to transport." Nodding once, Tahu and Pohatu ran out of the shelter, both ready to fight. Through the slowly lifting fog, the pair of Toa could see the shapes of several spider-like Rahi.

"So those creepy blighters are called Visorak…" Tahu muttered. "At least we have a name for them now." Pohatu nodded, grimacing a bit.

"Yeah. Just don't light up everything like you did earlier, alright? As cool as that was, I've had enough close calls for now." The Toa of Fire gave a faint and hollow laugh.

"I have no intentions of doing that again." He paused as sudden realization hit him. "Oh no…" His Brother looked at him curiously.

"Oh no what, Tahu? Forgot something at the boat?" The red haired teen shook his head.

"Worse…I forgot that Onua was still looking for Kopaka and Lewa…" His face paled as he said this. "Mata Nui…I think I killed them!" Pohatu blinked.

"U-uhm…t-that's not good… n-now what do we do? O-other than fight the Visorak that are trying to kill us?" Tahu gulped.

"Pray that they're alive and don't know I did it? …And hope that Gali doesn't figure it out?" Pohatu nodded slightly, his gaze returning to the oncoming Rahi.

"Sounds good to me…so, what's the plan this time, other than burning the area down?" Tahu gave a hollow laugh in mock amusement, glancing around a little to get a feel for the area they were in.

"No plan yet, wise guy. What about you?" The brunette thought a little while, watching the Visorak as they came closer. The faintest of grins formed on his face.

"Tahu," He asked. "How good are you at bowling?" The Toa of Fire gave him a questioning look.

"I'm alright at it, but how is that relevant?" Pohatu's grin grew a little as he pointed at the Visorak's legs and then the webs they were standing on.

"As long as you can roll it hard enough to knock one off balance or break a web, then we're right as rain." He picked up a piece of loose rubble, and said, holding the somewhat rounded rock like a bowling ball. "Observe." He then moved closer to the edge of the roof, and let the makeshift weapon fly. With pin-point accuracy, the 'ball' landed between two webs and rolled along them as though they were specifically for that reason. Shaking the web violently and causing several Visorak to fall off, Pohatu's rock didn't stop rolling until the webs separated far enough to let the heavy stone drop, effectively taking out another Visorak as it fell. Impressed with the result, Tahu found a rock of his own and took a shot at the new and destructive version of bowling. Though his attempt wasn't quite as satisfying as Pohatu's, the Toa of Fire managed to snap two strands of web, dropping several more of the arachnid-like Rahi to their doom on the rubble-strewn streets below.

Though this had stopped a fair few of the Visorak from reaching the roof, others were moving in from the side, opening fire with the same sort of energy disks as before. Pohatu, unaware of this until it was too late, let out a pain filled scream as a red colored disk hit him in the ribs, knocking him off his feat and leaving him writhing in pain on the roof, tears streaming down his face.

"M-make it stop!" He wailed, unable to focus on anything save the intense burning sensation that was coursing through his frame. "Make it stop!" Tahu could tell already that things were taking an abrupt and drastic turn for the worst. Panic setting in, he stood next to Pohatu, sword drawn and ready to strike as the Rahi closed in, clicking and chittering as though they were mocking him.

"Just give up." He heard Lhikan's voice say in his mind. "A smart Toa would just surrender." Something about this voice unnerved Tahu greatly. Why was he hearing Lhikan's voice if Lhikan was dead? And why was it telling him to surrender? Lhikan had told him constantly to never give up on the others, or himself, so why change the story now? He shook his head nervously.

"No…never give up…you always told me that… I'm not going to give up! I just won't! Get out of my head!" The voice didn't answer. Instead, several energy disks laughed at him, barely giving Tahu enough time to activate his mask power and protect himself from the oncoming attack. The energy disks hit the shield with a resounding crack that echoed all around the battlefield. Dropping the barrier, Tahu moved a little closer to Pohatu, hurling a small fireball at the closest Visorak and making it fall off the web, smoking and screeching loudly until the tell-tale thud and eerie silence that came from where it had fallen, a sure sign that the foul creature was dead. Now a few of the Visorak were on the roof, heading full tilt towards the panicking Toa and his agony-stricken Brother. Forcing himself not to run and abandon Pohatu, Tahu heated his sword, lashing out at the nearest Rahi. Hissing in pain and anger as the blade bit into and burned its flesh, the creature fired an energy disk, hitting Tahu square in the chest and knocking him over. The fifteen year old's body went numb before he'd even hit the roof. Trying in vain to move out of the way, there was nothing he could do to escape the monstrous Rahi that advanced with more aggression and hunger than it had before…

Only to find a sharp blade come crashing down on its back and finish the job that Tahu couldn't. Jerking his glaive free of the Visorak's corpse, Mihkoro unleashed several jet black fireballs, scorching his targets within mere moments of contact. The Visorak let out angered and fearful screeches and chirping noises as the infuriated dark Toa continued his assault, striking down one after the other with incredible speed and strength. It was almost as though he was a completely different person. He wasn't fighting for the thrill like he used to when Tahu had first met him. Now Mihkoro looked as though he was fighting to protect at all costs. This new style was both shocking and confusing to Tahu. Deciding to ask later, the Toa Mata did the only thing he could; watch and wish he could help. He tried to speak, but even his voice refused to obey at the moment. Luckily, Mihkoro seemed to know what was he was wanting to ask, and said.

"Gali, Kaidihka, and Matoro are all safe. I got them out of here as soon as I could." Relief swept over Tahu when he heard that. At least they were safe.

It was then that a loud roar erupted from somewhere above the Visorak, launching them into unorganized panic and terror as they scrambled to try and escape. Mihkoro looked up quickly, lowering his weapon as he did so. Once the Rahi had all vanished from sight, he called out.

"Took you long enough! Where in this apocalyptic nightmare were you!" He didn't sound angry. If anything he sounded vaguely amused. A strange looking creature flew down and landed nearby, its muscular frame shifting awkwardly, as though mildly sheepish.

"I came as quickly as I could, Mihkoro." The creature responded, his voice slightly raspy, and calm in tone. "I would've been here sooner, but something came up." Tahu's jaw would've dropped were he able to let it do so when he saw the creature.

With a semi-light build and standing a decent bit taller than an average person, the strange, animal-like creature reminded Tahu of what happened to Vakama, though his color pattern was virtually the opposite. Instead of a dusty red color, this being's hair was a pale, ice blue, rather messy, and ear length. The massive wings and tail he had resembled those of a Kanohi Dragon, and were covered in ice blue scales with light grey membranes on his wings to enable flight. Silver, plate-like scales covered his shirtless chest, and by what Tahu could see, his sides and back were covered in icy blue ones like those on his wings, tail, and large, clawed feet. Shaped like a mix between bird feet and reptilian feet, the claws on each toe were greyish white and appeared to be very sharp.

The being didn't wear much as far as clothing was concerned. In fact, all he really seemed to be wearing were faded jean shorts that most likely had been customized because of his tail, and a silver chain that hung around his neck, a silver Kanohi Hau charm hanging off of it. The eye sockets of the charm were filled with two small light-stones the color of pale, blue topaz. All in all, the creature looked like he would be a devastating opponent in battle, and scary if he was ticked off. The paralyzed Toa was amazed that Mihkoro wasn't even unnerved in the slightest at the sight of this being.

"Something came up?" Mihkoro repeated, his tone sounding uncertain. "Did it have to do with you know who trying to take you know what?" The creature shook his head, letting Mihkoro sigh with relief before speaking.

"I left the situation in Kualas' care, and Norik is already tending to you know what." Tahu was beginning to get feeling back, and said, sounding rather annoyed at the present situation and lack of detail.

"Okay, are you two done talking in riddles? Pohatu's hurt, I'm confused, and you two are just chit-chatting. Who is Norik, and Kualas, or 'you know who'? And what is a 'you know what' anyway? A Kanohi or something? Is it the Vahi?" Mihkoro looked down at Tahu and shook his head.

"Kid, just be quiet. You'll get to meet Norik and Kualas, who would be better at explaining who 'you know who' is. As for a 'you know what', it's…" His voice trailed off as he glanced at the dragon-like being, seeming uncertain. "You're sure he's safe?" Tahu spoke before a response could be given.

"Who is 'he'? You aren't making sense!" The dark Toa sighed quietly as he looked back at Tahu.

"He and 'you know what' are the same thing."

"And that is?"

"…that would be my son."


	8. Chapter 7: Answers

"Will you stop squirming already? I'm trying to help you!"

"I don't need help, I need answers!" The scaly, fish-like woman sighed as she and Kopaka stared at each other for several seconds. Her expression showed her weariness with Kopaka's lack of co-operation, whilst the Toa of Ice was simply irritated with the lack of information that he had. He'd been arguing with her for several minutes now, and his patience was waning. Why wouldn't she answer his questions? Now that he could think clearly, he had more questions that had to be answered, and he wasn't about to take no for an answer. The woman sighed, fixing her light orange, fish-like eyes on his face.

"Kopaka, son of Kualas," She addressed, her tone calm but very serious. "Being caught the way you were, let alone hitting the wall at the speed you did, could have caused damage, or at least whip lash. You can ask as many questions as you want later, but for now can you please just co-operate with me? The longer you make a fuss, the longer it will take for me to access the damage." The Toa of Ice frowned.

"But what about Lewa? And how did you know who my dad was? Just who are you?" She shook her head disapprovingly at his questioning. Brushing her sea blue hair out of her eyes with a few of her webbed fingers, she responded.

"Lewa is still struggling with the venom. I can't give you a definite answer about him. As for your father, even if I didn't know him as well as I do, your appearance gives it away. Now will you please settle down?" Reluctantly, the pale teenager nodded. "Thank you. Honestly, you're worse than Pouks or Bomonga about this… and don't even ask who they are. You've asked too many questions as it is."

"Wait, who's…" Before he could finish talking, the mutant woman had not only pushed a piece of what looked like some sort of fruit into his mouth, but had also taken a light, yet firm grip on his head. Too caught off guard by this action to really know what to do, Kopaka stared at her with alarm. Seeming satisfied with the result, she let go of his head and started to look him over, saying as she did so.

"Now eat your fruit and hush up. It's rude to talk with your mouth full." The Toa of Ice nearly choked on it as he tried to argue, and the 'fish woman' added. "And dangerous too, going by the sound you just made." Face red and eyes watering because of choking, there was very little the humiliated teenager could do without being scolded, or having more food pushed into his mouth. Irritated and un-amused, Kopaka finally gave up questioning her, and sat where he was, eyes closed and, once he'd swallowed the fruit, a scowl on his face. The mutant, however, simply tittered in amusement and said as she continued checking him for damage.

"You scowl just like your father. If I hadn't seen him just a few minutes before I met you, I'd almost think someone had made him a teenager again." Kopaka just snorted indignantly, causing the woman to giggle quietly.

"Mhm… Just like your father. You can stop pouting now, I'm finished. You can go anywhere in here, just don't go outside." Opening his eyes and glaring at her somewhat, he asked coldly.

"Or what, you'll cram more fruit down my throat? I need to find the others, not be treated like a four year old with a poor mental capacity." The woman's expression changed within a matter of moments. Going from amused to somewhat angry, she said harshly, her tone irritable and less than impressed.

"Or you'll be taken by the Visorak, mutated, and end up looking like the others. You could even end up like Vakama and the rest of his team. Now are you satisfied, or did you have more to complain about?" Before Kopaka could respond, the feathered, blue-eyed man entered the room, walked over, and put a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Gaaki, you're getting worked up again. Go and rest for a little while. I can finish things up in here."

"But…" She started, though she shook her head and sighed. "Fine…if you need a break let me know." The man gave a slight nod to his companion as she left, and then turned his gaze back to Kopaka.

"Please try not to upset her. She's been a bit stressful as of late. She hasn't seen a close friend of hers for a long while now." Sitting down on the chair in front of Kopaka's, he looked the Toa Mata over before commenting. "You've grown up well Kopaka, despite what happened." The teen nodded slightly.

"Yeah, I guess so. No parents, no siblings…just a group of people I didn't know." He rolled his eyes. "Why do you care? It's not like you can change anything that happened." The mutated man sighed.

"But I can help change the future." His gaze fell to the locket that hung at Kopaka's neck, and he smiled.

"I remember the day I gave that to your mother." He said gently. "It was my parting gift to her before we dropped all contact with each other." Kopaka blinked, looking at his locket with curiosity. Lifting it and opening it, he looked at the two pictures, his gaze quickly falling to the image of his parents, namely his father. Those eyes were staring at him, and when he looked up, he realized why the mutant's eyes looked the way they did…

It was because they were exactly the same. Barely able to understand what he had just discovered, he asked shakily, his voice barely louder than a whisper. "…Dad?" The mutant's eyes betrayed the smile he wore beneath his face cover.

"Yes Kopaka?" The teen swallowed. He could hardly believe it. He had finally located his father, and yet the only question he could come up with seemed so unfitting. However, with no other questions to ask, it was all he could say.

"What happened to you?" Kualas sighed quietly.

"Teridax and Roodaka happened." He explained. "My comrades were sceptical when I warned them about Teridax turning on us. We walked right into a trap." He glanced down at the floor, shaking his head sadly. "We were handed over to Roodaka and were experimented on. It was lucky that we even managed to escape that night. Iruni nearly died, Gaaki twisted her ankle… but here we are now, and by what I can see, will evermore be Rahaga…Roodaka's triumph, and the Toa Hagah's failure." Kopaka thought over what he had just been told. That brought up another question the Toa Mata wanted an answer for.

"Who is Roodaka?" Kualas hesitated before giving a response.

"Roodaka is the reason the Visorak are here." He explained. "And as far as I know, she's trying to find a key of some sort. I never really heard what the key was, but it's something she can use to bring back the Master of Shadows." He paused to let this information sink into his son's mind, and then continued. "So far she doesn't know where the key is…rather, the six pieces of it. But judging by your expression you very well might." Kopaka's expression had turned to one of shock and horror by now, and his pale face had almost gone as white as his hair.

"I… I don't know where they all are…but two of us are here already." Kualas paused, slightly curious and surprised at the response.

"Teridax was trapped in a Toa Seal?" He asked. "…and you were part of it?" The teenager nodded.

"My whole team was… the Toa Mata are the six pieces, but… can't any Toa group break a Seal, as long as the elements match up?"

"Yes, but as far as I know, she only has one element. One that is willing in any case. Now do you understand the danger of leaving the forge on your own? It's only a matter of time before the other five Toa Metru snap and fall under her control." That was when a familiar voice spoke, sounding irritable.

"Well thanks for the happy-luck vote of high-confidence." Kopaka and Kualas both turned to look at the one who had spoken. His hair was incredibly messy, chin-length, and lime green, his eyes yellow and hawk-like, with green feathers framing them like a peculiar mask. A large, exotic looking crest of orange feathers rah through his hair from his forehead to the back, looking like a Mohawk of sorts. The lower half of his face and his torso seemed to still be normal, along with his arms, though his hands were covered with yellow scales, his fingers tipped with long and sharp looking talons. A long, green and orange, feathery tail could be seen as well, and the lower halves of his legs now resembled those of a hawk or falcon, taloned feet and all, covered in yellow scales.

Presently, he was wearing a dusty, pine green muscle shirt, and black jean shorts that at some point had been full length jeans. Barely visible because of his hair, two gold, hoop-like earrings, small in size, were visible in the cartilage of his left ear, and three similar ones could be seen in the cartilage of his right.

Kopaka stared at the figure for a while, dumbstruck at the changes, though he finally found his voice.

"T-Toa Matau?"


	9. Chapter 8: Promise Me This

"No, I'm an oversized turkey-bird. Of course I'm Matau. And I'm sick and tired of all the spider-bugs." The mutated Toa of Air grumbled. "It's bad-rotten as it is that I had the hard-luck of nearly fall-dropping to my death. If that's not enough, I look like a tar and feather victim in bad-fashion gloves and boots. Do you know how trouble-hard it is to quick-walk like this? And don't even get me start-going on my face. I mean, seriously, I'm a Toa-hero, not a Gukko!" A finger being pushed against the mutated Toa's lips cut him off before he could keep ranting, and as Kualas held it there, he said calmly.

"Be thankful you do not have the face of a female Makuta. Just be content with the fact that you are alive." As he withdrew his hand, the Rahaga continued. "Now then, how did you escape? Sit down if you need to, but tell me how you got here." Matau sighed, ambling over to a nearby stool and sitting down.

"I escaped because the web-string my cocoon-case was hanging from broke-snapped. Managed to rip-claw my way free, and land-splashed in a fountain-pool. Then I just sorta way-found my way here…" He hung his head. "I should've help-saved the others but I…I was ever-desperate to get away from there… I couldn't force-make myself go back for them… didn't want to be capture-caught again and end up like the fire-spitter…" Kualas nodded understandingly.

"You can relax now, Toa Matau. You are safe here. You are the first person to find us so far, and we've been here a long while. Is there anything you need? You've been trapped for at least two weeks." Matau barely even opened his mouth before his stomach gurgled noisily. Too hungry to be embarrassed, the mutated Toa of Air looked at Kualas with feeble hope, as though not fully certain that he would actually be fed anything of sustenance. Kualas' eyes betrayed a weak smile as he stood up and moved to the door.

"I understand." He said quietly. "I'll be back right away." Once Kualas was gone, Matau looked at Kopaka and mustered a faint smile.

"Ever-glad to see you again, Kopaka. You've changed a lot since we last talk-spoke with each other."

"Could say the same of you, Toa Matau. What happened to you anyway?" The twenty-two year old sighed, shaking his head and looking down at the floor.

"Ever-bad things. Visorak venom-juice actually. We Toa-heroes never stood a hope-chance. Fire-spitter went mask-cracked within days… to be true-honest I thought-figured I'd be next to go and see-meet 'her'…" Kopaka distinctly heard the mutated young man sniffle. "Fire-spitter was so fear-scared when he went in…and when he came out…" Again he made a sniffling noise, shuddering as he moaned the end of his sentence. "He was mask-cracked beyond return…" Hesitating, he paused before adding. "Toa-sister Nokama tried to reason with him…he just about set us all on fire because of it…" Looking up at Kopaka, the distraught young man asked quietly, voice shaky and tears rolling down his cheeks.

"What h-happened to us? We used to be such a strong-close team, but now… now we're so broken-shattered it's as though there never was the Toa-heroes of Metru Nui…" His quiet crying deepened into light sobbing as he stared at the Toa of Ice. "Promise you won't let this happen to your Toa-hero team-group too…" Kopaka gave a slight nod. It didn't take much for him to see that things were far worse than they had looked, if that had even been possible.

"Don't worry about it." He said firmly. "The Toa Mata will stand united, no matter what happens. It will take more than a few spiders and a crazed Toa to bring us down." Matau mustered up a weak smile at these words.

"Well, that's something worth stay-living to see. I'll ever-hold you to it." Kualas returned now, a bowl of fruit in his hands. Giving it to the eagerly waiting Toa of air, who'd barely even mumbled a thanks before ravenously devouring what he'd received, the Rahaga turned his attention to Kopaka once more.

"Lewa's stable enough now. He wanted to see you." Glancing briefly at Matau, he added. "And since the most you'll get from him right now is unintelligible noise, it might be best if you went to see your Brother." Kopaka thought it over. It'd been six years since he'd last seen Matau, but he might not get to see Lewa again, depending on what the venom was doing to him. Finally he made up his mind, and nodded.

"Alright. Where is he?" His eyes betraying a grim smile, Kualas turned to head out of the room.

"Follow me." He replied. "He's downstairs." Standing up and moving closer to Kualas, father and son left the room, heading down the small hallway towards the stairs. As they went, Kopaka couldn't help but feel as though he'd been there before, though he couldn't figure out why. The last time he'd even been in a properly structured building was six years back, and he couldn't recall anything quite like this one before. Even when they got down to the main floor, he couldn't remember, despite the growing sense of familiarity. Just where was he?

Kualas hesitated when they reached a particular door, and looked grimly at his son. "Before you go in," He said quietly. "I want you to know that Lewa is far from even looking like he's healthy. His mental and emotional functions could very well be scrambled right now as well. His reaction to the Hordika venom he was injected with is unlike any I've ever seen before. With this knowledge in mind, please try not to agitate him in any way. The last thing this boy needs is uncontrollable mood swinging." Normally Kopaka would irritably explain that he doesn't try to tick people off, but presently he was too tired of arguing to even bother with it. So instead, he simply nodded and turned to look at the door. Already he was trying to picture what Lewa looked like, and images of the fourteen year old's frame being deathly pale and sickly were flooding through his mind. Kualas seemed to know what he was thinking about, and sighed.

"You'll only know the truth when you go in. I'll wait out here for you." The teenager nodded slightly, and turned the door knob, pushing the door open and slipping inside.

Now he knew why things had been familiar. He recognized the design of the room, as well as the layout. It was Vakama's old forge. Memories of seven-year-old events flooded his mind now as he looked around, his gaze falling first to the coal bin. He remembered how he and Vakama had changed his hair color with coal, and a very faint smile crossed his face. Of all his memories, that small part of his history had always been one of his favorites, merely because of the simplicity and the fun he and Vakama'd had while doing it. Next, Kopaka's gaze fell to the door that lead out onto the street. He remembered watching helplessly as Vakama had been bounced off it by the Makuta, and how painful it had seemed to be. Finally he looked to the large anvil near the center of the room, remembering fully how Nuju had knocked one of the Makuta senseless against it. Those days seemed so far away now, as though they had only been dreams or other figments of the imagination. Shaking himself from his reminiscence, he turned his attention to the work bench. It had been moved closer to the fire pit, in which a few small bits of coal were burning, and noticed that the bench had been made into a makeshift bed. Old and obviously scavenged blankets made up the mattress and covers, and a burlap bag stuffed with bits of cloth had been used for a pillow. It was in this that Lewa's sickly and weak frame lay. He looked far worse than Kopaka had remembered, and beads of sweat dotted the fourteen year old's face like tiny marbles glinting in the dull glow of the firelight. Once he seemed to realize that Kopaka was there, the Toa of Air smiled a little and said weakly.

"Hello-hi, Ice-Brother… nice to see you're still in one shape-piece…" Kopaka barely managed a slight smile of his own as he walked over and lightly took hold of his Brother's sweaty hand.

"It's nice to see you're still breathing." He replied quietly. "How are you feeling?" Lewa coughed out a weak laugh.

"I'll say-put it this way…" He responded. "I know I'm alive, because I can feel parts I didn't know I had." Despite knowing that his brother was in pain, the Toa of Ice smiled a bit.

"At least you know you're alive. Keep fighting, okay? I promised Toa Matau that I'd keep you and the others alive and united. Don't make me break that." Lewa's small smile grew a little.

"I'll do my ever-best…I true-heart promise…"

"Good." There were a few moments of silence now, the two boys both seeming to only care that the other was still alive. Finally, Kopaka spoke again. "Some day this turned out to be, eh?" He muttered. "Lhikan dead, our city gone…" He sighed. "And the others all missing. They could even be dead now too for all we know… It doesn't help that Vakama's a psychotic nutcase now… Is there anything that could make this worse?" Unfortunately, he'd spoken too soon. The door opened and Kualas moved inside, looking worried.

"Kopaka, we're under attack. Stay here and make sure the room is sealed. Is that clear?" The fifteen year old blinked as he turned to look at his father.

"But I need to help! Those abominations are the reason my team is scattered, and why Lewa is bed-ridden!" The Rahaga seemed to frown as he shook his head.

"Roodaka knows your team is here, Kopaka, and as far as she's concerned, you're all easy pickings. So stay put." And before Kopaka could say anything to argue, Kualas had left, locking the door behind him and trapping his son inside.


	10. Chapter 9: You're Kidding

"You've gotta be kidding me."

Mihkoro frowned at the temporarily paralytic teenager lying nearby him on the roof. Did he honestly just say that? Did he really just say that he doubted what he'd been told? What was this kid's problem anyway? His tone irritable and eyes narrowed, the dark Toa replied coldly.

Am I not allowed to have a family, Tahu? Is love something I'm not permitted to show?" The dragon-like creature sighed, seeming bored.

"Mihkoro please, now isn't the time. We have to move out before more of the Visorak arrive. As it is we're running low on time, and these two being the way they are isn't going to help us. Kajuni and Helryx are counting on us to keep these kids safe." Tahu blinked, managing to turn his head, grateful that the paralysis was staring to wear off.

"Toa Helryx sent you?" He asked. "Really? Where is she?" Mihkoro sighed quietly.

"Can't tell you, Tahu, but yes, she sent us. My whole team is here, but that can wait." He looked to the mutant again. "Meet at point B. Take Tahu with you, Pohatu's in more danger and needs to get there more quickly." The creature nodded as he moved closer and picked Tahu up. "And Frigus…" The being looked at Mihkoro again.

"Yes Brother?"

"Make sure Hera isn't worrying about me, will you?"

"That's like trying to stop the tide from coming and going, Mihkoro." He responded with a faint laugh. "But I'll do what I can. Just make sure Nuju's family is still in tact, and we'll be alright." Mihkoro quirked a faint smile at that, and nodded as he carefully picked up Pohatu's twitching and shivering frame.

"See you on the battlefield." Frigus nodded slightly before turning and spreading his wings.

"May the stars give you fortune." He responded. With that said, he took off, holding Tahu close as he went. The Toa of Fire shivered a bit, a mixture of wind chill from taking off, and the sheer coldness of his transport's scales and skin.

"Hey, uh…what's your name, where are we even going?" The creature laughed.

"The name's Frigus, kiddo. And point B is another name for the place your first steps as a Toa were taken. It's a bit of a disaster area now, but it's still a decent spot to 'camp out'. Visorak tend to avoid those ruins for some reason. The only trick is getting there." Tahu swallowed quietly.

"And…is that generally hard?" Frigus laughed, as though everything was fine and casual.

"About as hard as catching smoke in a bottle. We'll make it just fine though. Besides, the Visorak rarely stick around there. I figure it's gotta do with it being a temple. That or it's the Suva. Either way, getting in there means we're safe." Tahu didn't feel overly convinced on this plan. Sure being somewhere safe was fine, but by the sounds of it getting in there was going to be brutally hard. Too uneasy to care that his limbs were starting to properly function again, the redhead asked, tone mildly uncertain.

"So what happened to you anyway? I mean, you can't have always been like this." Out of the corner of his eye, the Toa saw Frigus' expression fade into a grimace. Sighing quietly, the mutant hesitated before responding.

"I used to be a Toa actually, a long time back. A Toa without a purpose. Eventually I was approached by Mihkoro and a lady cloaked in dark blue. The lady told me that Mihkoro needed to form a team, and asked if I was up for the job. Deciding I had nothing better to do with my life, I consented and we made a team, eventually growing to be seven in number. Once we had gotten acquainted, the lady told us that an island titled 'Metru Nui' needed our help, as the team that was there already was being beaten down. After arguing about it, since Mihkoro said he didn't want anything to do with that island, we convinced him and all set sail." He hesitated, shaking his head grimly as he recalled the horrific details.

"We were met with a city trapped in turmoil. Matoran were going missing at an alarming rate, never to be found again, and incredible tension was destroying relationships, particularly the friendship between the team of Toa that were there before us." Frigus shook his head sadly as he took a moment to focus on his surroundings before continuing. "It didn't take long until my comrades and I were targeted. Kajuni was the first to go down in the struggle, and he only did it so the rest of us were safe."

"Kajuni?" Tahu asked curiously. "Who's that? And didn't you say that Kajuni was counting on you? Going by what you just said now, he's dead." Frigus grimaced.

"In a way, he did die, but he was reborn as a 'monster', just like I was. You'll get to meet him later."

"By reborn," The Toa of Fire asked. "You mean mutated, right?" The mutant sighed.

"Way to put it bluntly." He responded. "Yes, that's what I mean, and by now the effects of the Hordika venom will have settled in permanently. Now are you done asking questions, or is there more?" Tahu thought a while.

"Yeah, I got one more. What the heck is a Hordika?" Frigus groaned, rolling his eyes.

"You aren't quick on the uptake are you?" He asked, mild agitation obvious in his voice. "Hordika venom is a mutation-inducing toxin that the Visorak use on their prey, mainly anyone bipedal and graced with a brain. I'm a victim of the Hordika venom. Put two and two together, you'll figure it out." Tahu, wisely deciding to ignore the insult, thought over the mutant's words and finally got the picture.

"Oooh…" He said quietly. "You're a Hordika…is that what happened to Toa Vakama?" Frigus nodded slightly.

"Now you're getting somewhere. Nice to see you've got some hope in the learning department. Now hush up and hold on tight." The Toa Mata blinked, and was about to ask why, when his mode of transportation pulled into a vertical dive, both arms wrapped closely around the teen so he wouldn't drop. Too surprised and shocked to even scream, Tahu's eyes widened as they began to spiral, hurtling downwards like a rocket on a crash course as they plummeted towards the ground. Already the Visorak webs seemed to be closing in, and it wasn't long until the pair were weaving through them as they went. Tahu closed his eyes tightly, holding onto Frigus like a lifeline as they drew still nearer to the ground, already fearing this would be the death of them both. However, with a powerful rushing sensation, the drop seemed to end completely, and he opened his eyes, discovering they had pulled out of the dive and were now gliding over the remains of Ga-Metru. He could see the Great Temple up ahead, weather-worn and crumbling, but still in tact.

"Did…did we make it?" He asked breathlessly. Frigus laughed, sounding amused.

"Kid that was the easy part. We barely even got started." Tahu gulped, his already paling face draining of all color that was left.

"Y-you're kidding, right? Please tell me you're kidding." The mutant shook his head.

"Not kidding. Hang on and hold tight kiddo, we've got a ways to go yet."

"…Mata Nui save us…"


	11. Chapter 10: Surprise Visit

"I'm not moving."

The Visorak hissed and clicked in rage as it struggled in vain to get the nineteen year old Toa of Earth off its back. Onua, luckily, had been more aware of his surroundings than his would-be attacker had expected, and was now perched on the Rahi's back, pinning it down and preventing it from getting up again. The Visorak continued fighting anyway, and Onua couldn't help but admire its determination.

"You know," He commented, as though starting an amusing conversation. "You and I could learn a lot from each other. I mean, there's probably a lot we could teach." He paused before adding. "Well, other than the fact you probably would just say that you wanted to kill me. You nearly got me, you know. Just a little faster, and I'd be gone." The spider-like creature sputtered angrily at him, thrashing harder, though since Onua was using his incredible strength to hold it down, the agitated creature wasn't getting very far. The Toa laughed quietly.

"You're just going to wear yourself out, Rahi. You probably won't want that." He paused, thinking a while. "Tell you what; let's call this a draw, make a truce, and get on with our lives as though this never happened. Sound reasonable to you?" The creature sputtered irritably again, though it stopped struggling to escape, just shifting a bit and clicking with displeasure. Onua grinned.

"I knew we could come to an understanding." Carefully, he slid off the Rahi's back, watching closely as it got up, turned, and fixed him with a death glare, though it made no move to attack him. "So," The Toa said with a faint smile. "You'll go you're way, I'll go mine, and we'll be perfectly fine, got it? No back stabbing, no nothing. Just turn and go, got it?" The Visorak hissed irritably at him, clicking its pincers as it slowly started to back up, eyes fixed on the young man as it did so. Slowly the Toa started backing up as well, until finally they were out of each other's eyesight. Grinning a little, Onua turned around and continued on his way, limping due to the burns that had resulted from a fire, which he had a strong feeling was started by Tahu. Rubbing his hands, still bearing bandages and pain-filled wounds on his palms from the battle with Teridax seven years ago, he sighed as he remembered the pain of when he first grabbed the Makuta lord's staff, how it felt like his hands were enflamed with a fire that could never be put out with normal water.

"Gali tried so hard to heal my hands after that…" He said quietly. "Never had the heart to tell her that it didn't do very much…" He shook his head. "And as it is, I'm never going to be able to hold anything painlessly again…" He looked up at the foggy sky and once more let out a sigh." Mata Nui help me through this…" A sudden clicking right behind him jolted Onua out of his thoughts and he turned…only to discover it was the same Visorak he'd pinned down only minutes before. Blinking, he was startled to see that it was watching him with an almost hopeful gleam in its bright orange eyes.

"You…want to follow me?" He asked curiously, trying to guess what the Rahi wanted. It clicked a few times, moving closer before clicking at him again. He quirked a faint smile. "Guess that's a yes…alright, go ahead. Just don't kill me, okay? I'm in pain as it is." He didn't really get a response, and thus quirked a faint smile once more. "Guess you understand that too…" He turned and started walking again, the Visorak following him quietly, and occasionally making a clicking noise with its pincers. After a while of near silence, Onua spoke again.

"Must get lonely without anyone to talk to." The Rahi merely clicked in response. "Not sure if that's a yes or a no, but nice to know your opinion." He glanced around again, coughing quietly and spitting on the pavement. "When I find Tahu…" He muttered, wincing as a stab of pain shot up his burned legs. "I'm going to make sure he sees the damage he caused…" Shaking his head a bit, Onua adjusted his glasses and sighed. "One would think I'd enjoy silence after being with the others for so long…now I just want to hear them again…" The sound of crumbling stone caught the Toa's notice and he froze, eyes watching closely for the cause of the noise. After a few more seconds he heard it again, this time closer. Without giving warning he turned, just in time to dodge a bright red energy disk. "Geez, just when I thought the party was over, someone has to go and start it again!" He could see the Visorak that'd been following him making a hasty retreat to avoid the fight, and couldn't help but wonder if it was the reason he had been found. Deciding he could think about it later, the Toa of Earth shifted his fingers a bit, three blades sliding into place and locking positions when they were at a length that Onua found suitable. Long, shaped like claws, and jet black, the weapons had obviously been designed both for battle, and digging holes.

The first of the attacking Visorak came into view now a total of three, each colored differently, and all rather large in size. Onua took on a defensive stance, his eyes seeming to glitter as he scooped up a large rock with his battle claws. Bracing himself, the nineteen year old shifted, winding his arm back and carefully taking aim before throwing his weight forward, hurling the chunk of rubble with every ounce of his strength. He barely had himself steadied when the projectile hit the first target, killing the Rahi on impact as it was flung backwards and into several others that, along with the other two, were advancing still. The remaining Visorak hissed and clicked in anger as they opened fire, hurling energy disks of a wide variety of colors along with thick strands of webbing. Onua ducked for cover, leaning back against the building he was hiding behind as he tried to devise a strategy. So far the odds were against him, as he was outnumbered, outgunned, and quite possibly outmatched. Thinking quickly, he dug his claws into the wall behind him and pulled, loosening several parts of it.

"It's a farfetched gamble…" He thought grimly. "But if I can pull fast enough, I might be able to make an opening and get in before the wall can collapse…" He paused, soon realizing that pulling wouldn't get him anywhere fast enough. Dislodging his claws and ducking an energy disk as its releaser came around the corner, Onua slammed his frame back against the wall, causing it to cave in and dropping him into the room behind as the stones above the opening fell. Scrambling backwards, the Toa Mata barely made it out of the way as the wall collapsed, sealing the opening and cutting out most of whatever dim light there had been. Dusting himself off, Onua let out a low whistle, looking over the damage he'd caused.

"Wow…that's a Pohatu-styled mess if ever I saw one. Too bad he isn't here to see it." Obviously satisfied with his accomplishment, the Toa of Earth turned and looked around curiously. He appeared to be in the living room of someone's house, judging by the moth-eaten and incredibly dirty furniture. Surprisingly, hardly anything, other than what Onua had just obliterated, appeared to be damaged, other than by aging and dust. Quietly walking over to the mantle over the fire place, the nineteen year old gingerly picked up the largest picture frame, his claws sliding back into his gloves as he lightly rubbed the glass in the hopes to see the image behind it. At first, nothing really became clearer, but after a while, Onua's patience paid off, and he was able to see who was in the picture.

Six grinning boys, each with green hair of varying shades, could be seen clustered around they're Le-Matoran father, and Ga-Matoran mother, the latter of which holding a baby with bright yellow-orange eyes. The mother's expression was a tired, yet cheerful one, showing her happiness and pride in her seven children, the oldest appearing to be somewhere in his twenties, with the second and third oldest close behind him. The third youngest wasn't that far behind the older ones, looking to be seventeen, with the second youngest looking to be around fifteen. The youngest boy was only two years old, and was sitting on his father's knee. Now turning his gaze to the father, Onua was surprised to see a very familiar facial shape and expression. Why, if he didn't know better, he would've considered this man to be Lewa as an adult. But if this was Lewa's family portrait…

Why wasn't Lewa present? Scanning the children's faces again, particularly the youngest three boys, Onua confirmed that the Toa Mata of Air wasn't present in the photo.

"Where is he…" Onua murmured quietly, carefully turning the frame in case something was on the back, only to find it blank. Sighing, the Toa of Earth replaced the picture on the mantle, and picked up one of the smaller ones. Rubbing away the grime on the glass, he couldn't help but smile. There was Lewa, trapped in a headlock and laughing, his older brother, Onua couldn't tell which, grinning as he held Lewa with one arm, and messed up the boy's already disastrous hair with his free hand. "There you are…"

A sudden noise caught Onua's attention as he turned, setting the photo back where it belonged as he did so. Near the staircase, the nineteen year old could make out the shape of a small figure, no taller than a three year old child. Blinking, Onua moved a little closer, trying to make out a distinct shape.

"Hey," He asked softly. "Are you alright?" The figure shook its head, the voice of a young girl quietly replying.

"I-I'm scared…" Onua smiled weakly.

"Truth be told, I am as well…are you here alone?" The little girl shook her head, pointing at something behind the Toa of Earth. Blinking, Onua started to turn, wondering what was behind him, but a heavy object came crashing down on his head before he could see who or what was there. Staggering, he blinked dazedly, dropping to his knees as he mumbled.

"Sneaky…little…devil…" And with that, the Toa went limp, collapsing fully and seeing no more.


	12. Chapter 11: Fight in the Forge

"Kopaka, a-am I gonna die?"

"For the tenth time, Lewa, you're not going to die." This was getting to be highly ridiculous. Why did Kopaka have to get stuck in a forge, with Lewa, in the middle of a Rahi infestation? Already he had begun questioning if he was better off in the middle of a fight than he was locked in a room with his scatterbrained Air Toa companion.

"How are you ever-certain?" What's h-happening to me?" The Toa of Ice groaned.

"It's just a bad reaction to a bug bite, Lewa. You'll be just fine. Now hush up and get some sleep." He could tell that the fourteen year old had no desire to rest at all, but there wasn't much else for him to really do in the condition he was in. By now Kopaka was desperate to shut Lewa up, but so far he was having no luck in finding something that wasn't violent. Ignoring Lewa as he complained about getting sleep already, Kopaka started to wander around the forge, searching for something that might amuse Lewa and shut him up.

"There has to be something I can do that isn't harmful that can make him be quiet…" The Toa of Ice muttered bitterly under his breath. "He's normally easy to amuse…" Looking around the room boredly, he eventually rested his gaze on the old coal bin. Surely there would be something in there that could keep Lewa occupied. Walking over to the box and opening the lid, Kopaka started to dig through the black lumps of coal, hoping beyond hope that he'd find something.

"Ice-Brother…what are you doing?" Rolling his eyes, the fifteen year old replied sarcastically.

"Finding a reason to have a bath." Much to his surprise, he heard Lewa laugh quietly. Glancing over to try and figure out what was so funny, Kopaka was surprised to see that the Toa of Air was watching him with mild amusement.

"Can I have some to play-fumble with too?" The question caught Kopaka so off guard that he wasn't sure how to respond. Why would Lewa find coal to be something of interest?

"I guess so." He replied finally, digging out the largest piece he could find and bringing it to Lewa, fumbling with a smaller chunk of his own the whole time. The sickly Toa of Air grinned weakly as he took hold of his new toy, looking it over with curiosity. Rubbing it around on his hands, the fourteen year old laughed quietly, smudging some of the black substance onto his arms as he whispered.

"Think I can color-change myself to be black?" Kopaka seemed vaguely amused by this.

"You can try if you want to." He replied. "Not sure how well it'll work though." Lewa didn't even seem to hear the last part of his statement as he continued to smear coal all over himself. Sighing quietly with relief that Lewa was finally quiet, Kopaka sat down where he was and started to fidget with his own bit of coal, rolling it over in his hands as he lost himself in seven year old memories.

"_S-so…y-you're getting my hair dirty to t-try and make me fit in?" Vakama chuckled quietly, something which made Kopaka feel a little safer as he watched the Toa of Fire with mild curiosity._

"_Exactly. You're pretty sharp for a boy your age." He couldn't figure how spotting the obvious was being 'sharp for his age', and tilting his head slightly, he responded._

"_Uhm… no a-actually…it's kind of a logical reasoning…" He watched as Vakama blinked, seeming a little awkward about being corrected._

"…_well…anyways, it should work either way. Unless you had a better idea." Kopaka had to think a while on that. Were there other alternatives? He couldn't really see any. Deciding that there weren't any other ways out of it, he wandered over to the coal heap, picking out a piece and fidgeting with it for a while. Once his hands were rather blackened, he set the piece of coal down, and ran his fingers through his hair._

"…_did it work?" Vakama smiled again and nodded._

"_Perfectly. Let's get the rest done." Kopaka managed a weak smile as he nodded and picked up another piece of coal to use. It wasn't long until they were both working at it, and even less time for them to finish. As they had worked, Kopaka couldn't help but remember how his sisters used to do that, and found himself smiling the whole while…_

When he was snapped out of these fond memories, he blinked, shaking himself out of bliss as the door shook violently. Scrambling to his feet and drawing his sword, Kopaka moved closer to Lewa, ready for a fight. Again the door shook, threatening to break off its hinges. Glancing at Lewa, the Toa Mata of Ice said urgently, his tone holding obvious unease about the situation.

"Hide, quickly! I'll hold them off as long as I can!" Too scared to argue, the fourteen year old shakily got up and moved as fast as he could to go hide as Kopaka turned his gaze back to the doorway. Part of the wood broke as the only thing between him and whatever was out there began to break apart.

"Unity states I stay at my Brother's side…" He murmured as the door shook again.

"Duty holds me responsible for protecting those who can't protect themselves…" The door shook again. They were almost in!

"Destiny tells me that it's do or die, and if that's the case…" His eyes narrowed as he took on a battle stance. "Then I'm going to fight to the bitter end." Wham! The door ripped off its hinges as the one beating it down dealt the final blow. Barely even flinching, Kopaka watched as a crimson, reptilian looking creature stalked in, flanked by four Visorak. Face twisted into a malicious sneer, the mutant Toa looked his potential victim over with sadistic pleasure, his feral green eyes holding neither pity or remorse.

"So this is where those foolish Rahaga had you locked away…how funny to see a tall and proud Toa of Ice locked up as though he were a common dog."

"Nice to see you too, Vakama." Kopaka hissed in response. "How long have you rehearsed that? Do what you came for. I don't have all day to waste on petty insults and small talk." The Hordika smirked as the four Visorak moved in ahead of him.

"You're right. I don't have the time for it either. So I offer you a choice; come quietly and avoid a pointless battle, or fight and be left in agony." Kopaka's eyes seemed almost to flash with anger as he formed several spears of ice, each around two and a half feet long, and snarled darkly.

"Do your worst." The four spider-like Rahi attacked as soon as he'd finished speaking, two of them charging at the Toa of Ice while the other two hung back, hurling energy disks from where they stood. Kopaka ducked as the disks whizzed past, his ice spears hurtling forward and impaling the charging pair. Snarling in anger, Vakama growled.

"Take him you fools! Our queen must have all six!" The remaining Rahi moved in, avoiding the last of Kopaka's icy spears as they did so. Diving behind a large vat of water, the Toa of Ice slammed one of his hands down on the floor, coating it with a thin layer of ice and causing the Visorak to slip and collapse, unable to get their feet under themselves again. Clenching his hand into a fist, Kopaka watched as the ice beneath the two creatures folded up and over them, encasing them fully and freezing them solid.

"The game is over, Vakama! You're out of pawns!" The Hordika growled angrily as the Toa of Ice moved back into view. "It's either forfeit or play your king. Don't make the wrong choice." The twenty-six year old mutant hissed in rage as he readied himself for battle.

"You should've surrendered, Kopaka."

"Toa never give in to evil. I guess you weren't a Toa after all. And here I had thought you were special. You're just a Matoran in armor after all." Vakama growled in anger as he ran at the fifteen year old, claws poised and ready to strike. However, this was exactly what the teenager had wanted him to do. At the last moment he moved to the side, knocking the cooling tank over and dousing Vakama with water. As though it had a mind of its own, the ice that remained on the floor froze the water that'd hit Vakama, imprisoning him from the elbows down in ice. Snorting quietly, Kopaka sheathed his sword and walked closer, looking the trapped and struggling Hordika over emotionlessly.

"Checkmate."


	13. Chapter 12: Continuing the Struggle

"I don't care how many times I've said it; you're a freaking psychopath!"

"Tahu, if you don't stop saying that, I'll give you a reason to believe your words. Will you please just be quiet, even if it's only for a little while? I'm trying to concentrate on what we're doing." Tahu rolled his eyes, but didn't respond. Presently, he and Frigus were stuck going to the Great Temple on foot thanks to the numerous Visorak patrols that were now keeping watch on the sky for any signs of something that 'didn't belong'. After a while, Frigus said quietly.

"Okay kid, here's the plan; you keep heading for the Great Temple. I'm going to cause a distraction that should give you enough cover to make it there and get inside. If all works according to plan, which it should, I'll join you shortly afterwards. Any questions?"

"Yeah." Tahu replied quietly. "What if you don't get there?" The Hordika grinned, stretching his wings a bit.

"Then I'll drag some of the little devils down with me. Either way kid, one of us is making it to the Great Temple, and I'm going to make sure it's you."

"But…"

"No buts. Kajuni's probably on the lookout for us as it is. When I lift off, I expect to see you moving like you had an angry Muaka cat after you, got it?" Tahu wanted to argue that the idea was ludicrous, but spending seven years around Kopaka had taught him that Toa of Ice had a habit of being overly and exceedingly stubborn, especially about tactics and strategies. Sighing in defeat, the Toa of Fire grumbled.

"Fine, just don't die, okay?" The Hordika laughed quietly, ruffling Tahu's already disastrous hair a bit.

"I'll be fine. Just don't look back to check. Eyes on the prize and all that. There is no shame in continuing on if you can't save someone."

"Wait, what?" But Tahu's question came too late. Frigus had already taken off and was hurtling upwards, toward the webs that hung overhead. Deciding he'd ask Frigus when he got to the Great Temple, the Toa Mata took off running, eyes fixed on the damaged walkway beneath him. The last thing he needed was to slip and fall into the murky water on either side.

"He'd better not get himself killed…" Tahu muttered quietly as he clambered over a chunk of broken pathway. "Because if I get lost I'm going to need all the help I can get." By now he could hear a chorus of clicks and screeches above him, and for a split second he considered looking up to check on the winged man that'd brought him this far. However, this thought was shaken from his mind as he tripped, landing on a slanted piece of walkway and rolling into the water. Gurgling out a scream as he sunk, Tahu tried in vain to get back to the surface, though his energy was being sapped away faster than he could force his rapidly cooling body to move.

"I can't make it!" He thought, panicking even more as his legs began to go numb from the cold. "I'm going to drown!" Memories of the other Toa Mata Flashed through his mind as Tahu lost all use of his legs, causing him to sink even faster. "I failed them all…and now I can't even say I'm sorry! Some Toa I turned out to be…" By now the fifteen year old was losing feeling in his fingers, and starting to give up all hope.

"It's over…"

However, that was when something grabbed onto his wrist, jerking him up towards the surface. Wincing as he opened his eyes, Tahu was startled to see a humanoid figure pulling him upwards. Within moments they broke the surface, and the strange creature had hauled Tahu back onto the walkway. Coughing and gasping for much needed air, the Toa of Fire looked his savior over with alarm.

Her skin was covered in sea blue, fish-like scales, her long, light blue hair pulled back in a fishtail braid. Her feet, from what Tahu could see of them, were webbed and resembled swimming flippers. She wore a navy blue, skin-tight outfit quite similar to a swimsuit, as well as a silver charm bracelet on her right wrist. But these features weren't the most alarming, nor were the gills on her neck. The most alarming feature was her face. Gentle and caring, despite the scales, there was no denying just who the orange-eyed fish woman was.

"T-Toa Nokama? Is that you?" She nodded, giving a saddened smile as she responded.

"Yes Tahu. It's me…my goodness you look different. Six years can do a lot I guess." Tahu shivered, half from being cold and wet, and half because of the alarming changes that'd happened to her.

"Yeah…" He said awkwardly. "I noticed…Toa Nokama, what happened to you? Were you Hordika-fied as well?" She sighed quietly and nodded.

"We all were. The others were the first to change." She hesitated, bright orange eyes full of despair. "I can still hear their agonized screams ringing in my ears…the mutation was agony, b-but listening to them crying out, with no way to save them or stop it from happening to me was even worse…and then…then Vakama switched sides…" Tears began to stream down her face as she stared at the water, her expression betraying every ounce of her sorrow. "It's as though he's somebody completely different. I don't know what that woman did to him, but whatever she did destroyed one of the best Toa I knew. I'll never forgive her for what she's done to us…" Tahu raised an eyebrow, not fully understanding. He'd seen what happened to Vakama and his temperament, but he'd never really been told who was responsible.

"Who did this anyway? Why is she doing it?" Nokama shook her head sadly.

"Her name is Roodaka, and alongside her 'king', Sidorak, they've taken control of Metru Nui. However, that's not all she wanted to do. She wants to release her real king, and needs the power of six Toa to do it." The Toa of Fire had to think that over until, with great shock, he discovered the reason.

"S-she wants to release Teridax? Why!" Nokama sighed, shaking her head again as she responded.

"Wouldn't you do anything you could to get your wife, if you had one, out of a trap like that?" Tahu's jaw dropped.

"That psychopath is married? Please tell me they don't have kids…" The Hordika gave a weak smile.

"Thankfully they don't. Not that anyone knows of anyway. In any case, you need to find shelter as soon as possible, and get as far away from the Great Temple as you can." Tahu blinked.

"Why? Mihkoro told me to go there. Frigus is risking his neck so I can make it."

"It's not safe anymore. I heard Roodaka giving orders for a raiding party to go in and take anything that's still alive." Panic rushed through the Toa Mata like a flood. Gali was in there, as well as Nuju's family, and Pohatu! Mihkoro had teleported them directly into a trap!

"But Gali and the others are in there! Someone has to warn them!" An ear-splitting scream rang out from above, drawing the pair to both look up. Frigus had been hit, and was now dropping at an alarming rate, seeming as though he were unable to save himself. Tahu opened his mouth, but before he could make any noise Nokama covered his mouth, her gaze fixed on the webbing that'd seemed almost to shoot out of nowhere, attaching to the paralyzed Hordika and stopping his freefall. Within moments the Visorak were upon him, wrapping Frigus in a web cocoon and leaving him hanging from the strands they were on before moving in on the Great Temple itself.

By now Tahu was fighting to get away from Nokama, desperate to try and get to the Temple first in the hopes of warning the others. However, the Hordika was too strong for him to pull away from, and his strength being sapped by the water wasn't helping. "Tahu, listen to me…" She said urgently. "There's nothing you can do for them. I know it's hard to watch, but running in there would only be suicide. You can't save them now… please, just stop fighting me." Eventually he gave into her request, and leaned against the Hordika that'd saved his life, tears streaming down his face as he closed his eyes. Nokama wrapped an arm around him, holding him close and gently rubbing his back. Tahu could hardly believe what was going on. Now his only remaining 'family' was being taken from him, and he had no way to stop it. As he sat there, Frigus' last words to him echoed through his mind.

"There's no shame in continuing on if you can't save someone."

Thinking this through for a little while, he asked weakly. "A-are there any others that are still free? Anyone at all?" The Hordika nodded.

"The other three Toa Metru are free now. Thankfully Nuju and Whenua were able to devise a way for us all to escape without dropping to our deaths. I think they're all trying to find out what happened to Matau when his cocoon broke and fell off the web." Tahu blinked, swallowing quietly and already knowing that she'd left Vakama out of the count.

"Matau dropped? I-in a cocoon? Is there any chance that he's even still alive?" Nokama mustered a weak smile as she stood, gently pulling Tahu to his feet.

"If I can be certain of anything, it's that Matau is lucky enough to survive just about any hazard that could befall him. I have no doubts that he is still alive. All we have to do is track him down, and that's something we can pull off." Tahu managed to force a weak smile of his own.

"Let's do it."


	14. Chapter 13: Earthshaking Discoveries

A cold and wet cloth being pressed against his forehead woke Onua from his unconscious state, and he groaned quietly. His head felt like it'd been hit with a sledge hammer, his ears were ringing, and as he slowly opened his eyes, he discovered that his glasses were gone.

"Oh…my head…" Through the ringing in his ears, the disoriented Toa of Earth could hear someone stand up and hurry out of the room.

"Brother, that black person you hit is awake!" It was the voice of the little girl he'd seen earlier. The voice of a young man spoke now, sounding flustered.

"Hahli, he's not a black person. He's from Onu-Metru. They all wear-show black clothes…wait…he's open-eyed?"

"Mhm." The girl responded. "His eyes are a funny color and are all glowy!" There was a pause before the sound of hurried footsteps drew closer, and a dark green haired figure moved into Onua's incredibly blurry vision.

"Who are you?" The figure asked, identifying him to be the young man. Onua blinked slowly, trying to focus on the stranger's face.

"Toa Onua…what about you?" The young man seemed horrified to hear this.

"M-Makito…I-I had no idea you w-were a Toa-hero, honest! I wouldn't have hard-hit you if I knew!" Onua gave a quiet laugh, shaking his head weakly as though to say it wasn't a big issue.

"Don't worry about it…" He said with a quiet and weak chuckle. "Lewa's done far worse to me before…" Makito's eyes widened, mouth open slightly.

"Lewa's live-breathing? Really? I thought-figured he was dead-gone. Where is he? Is he still free-safe?" Onua grimaced, going out on a limb as he responded.

"As far as I know, your brother is still okay and with any luck, has Kopaka with him. I just wish I knew where he was. We all got separated during an attack, and I haven't seen any of them since." Hahli tilted her head slightly, her glasses sliding a bit and making her look even cuter than she already was.

"Mr. Toa…" She asked meekly. "Are my brothers gonna be okay?" Even without his glasses, Onua could make out Makito's worried expression. These two brave Matoran were desperate for answers and guidance. Unfortunately, Onua was more of a follower than he was a leader. After giving it some thought, however, the Toa replied quietly.

"I'm sure they'll be just fine." Makito took him for his word. Hahli, however, pressed on.

"Positive?" She asked hopefully. He gave her a weak smile.

"Positive." There was a sudden and frantic knocking sound, followed by a door bursting open, and a teal haired young man racing into the room, a six year old boy with forest green hair clinging to his back.

"Makito we have to leave, now!" The young man gasped out, eyes wide and expression fearful. The eldest brother blinked and looked over quickly.

"Why? What's the trouble-matter? Were you sight-spotted?" The younger man shakily nodded.

"Yes…The Visorak are already coming after us. Kongu nearly got shot by a Boggarak! We don't have any time to lose!" Makito's face went white, and it became clear to Onua that whatever a Boggarak did was horrible.

"Hahli, quick-grab your things, I'll get the Toa-hero back on his feet." He then turned his attention to Onua, who was already forcing himself to sit up. The twenty-one year old who'd just arrived looked startled.

"You found one of the Toa?" He asked with alarm. "Which one? Who is he?" Makito grimaced as he handed Onua's glasses over to their rightful bearer.

"He's name-called Onua. He's one of Lewa's Toa-Brothers." The other Matoran gasped as Onua stood up, looking the Toa of Earth over with shock.

"I'll explain later." Onua said, seeing the 'unnamed' Matoran's expression. Just wait until we're somewhere safer first." As he said this, Hahli returned, a little patchwork backpack slung over her shoulder.

"I'm ready!" She said quickly, clambering onto Makito's back as he knelt. Once she was settled, he stood up again, picking up a cast iron frying pan as he did so. Deciding not to ask if this was the same 'weapon' that was used to knock him senseless, Onua asked.

"Does anyone know where we're going?" Makito shook his head grimly.

"Baku and I never really had to quick-leave permanently before…we don't have anywhere to go." The Toa of Earth grimaced. He didn't like the sounds of that. Thinking fast, he said quickly.

"Okay, we'll hide in the Archives, even if it's only for a little while. It's the only safer place that I can think of. Are there any objections?" The two eldest shook their heads. "Okay, let's get…" He was cut off by the sound of numerous feet climbing the walls. Baku started to panic.

"We're trapped!" He moaned. "We're finished now, I know it!" Onua looked around hurriedly, his gaze falling to the stairs.

"We're not finished until we're all out cold! Now follow me!" He headed down the steps, Makito and Baku close behind with Kongu and Hahli holding on for dear life. As they moved into the living room, Onua asked.

"Do you have a basement?" Baku, too panicked to care about the absurd question, nodded and pointed to a door across the room from them. "Good, because we're going to need it." Hurriedly, he and the Matoran crossed the room, the sound of clicking now ringing loudly in their ears. Ushering the four Matoran as far back in the basement as they could go, Onua turned and knelt, one hand on the floor as he watched the doorway. "I apologize now for demolishing your house."

Before Baku or Makito could ask what he was talking about, the Toa of Earth narrowed his eyes, the veins in his hand and lower arm starting to glow a pale, dusty teal color. As this happened, everything around them began to shake. Makito stumbled, quickly getting down on his knees and hugging his little sister close, eyes squeezed shut as he appeared to brace himself for a premature burial. Baku dropped to his knees as well, Kongu whimpering as he slid off his brother's back and huddled against his side.

"What are you doing?" Baku shouted over the noise as the sound of destruction seemed to ring out all around them. Onua didn't answer. He couldn't risk losing concentration on the earthquake he'd started. Losing control would mean that he and the others would be buried alive, trapped, or crushed. In any of those cases, death was a high risk, and not one that the nineteen year old was willing to take. Soon the sounds of breaking and crashing were nearly deafening, and even still Onua held onto his natural disaster, unwilling to take any chances on having the Visorak survive.

After almost a full minute longer, the Toa's earthquake dissipated into non-existence, the glowing veins on Onua's hand and arm faded, and as he stood up, a wave of dizziness washed over him, causing the black haired nineteen year old to collapse, disoriented and exhausted. Makito and his siblings were all staring at him, wide-eyed and utterly speechless. After several moments of silence, Kongu asked weakly, his voice holding all the amazement of a child who'd seen a magic trick.

"Wh-what'd you do?" Onua coughed out a faint, highly amused laugh.

"I already told you…I demolished the house…" Smiling a little when he heard one of the Le-Matoran gasp, he commented. "Never did get good marks in the clean house department…so, is everyone okay?" Makito spoke up.

"Other than being nearly ever-deaf, I think so…what about you? You're the one flat-sprawled on the ground-floor." The Earth Toa laughed quietly.

"I'll be fine, Makito. We just gotta get moving soon." Baku moved closer, carefully pulling Onua to his feet and holding him upright while he got re-oriented with standing. As he regained balance, Onua looked around the basement. A lot of things had been knocked over, though thankfully nothing extremely breakable was smashed. Grinning a little as he looked over the damage, he muttered to himself with mild amusement.

"Pohatu, let's see you beat this."


	15. Chapter 14: Stress Before the Storm

Gali looked around worriedly as she fumbled with her battle hooks. They were trapped, and now there was no way out. It was only a matter of time until the barricades would be broken down, and then they would be overrun by the Visorak horde. As it was, Mihkoro had worked himself to the point of nearly collapsing, trying to buy enough time to get everybody out before the arachnid Rahi could break through the hastily built barricades, and he absolutely refused to rest until he could be sure that everyone would be safe. Gali could hear him arguing about this with a young sounding woman in one of the adjoining rooms, and as she looked at Pohatu, she could tell that he was worried as well.

"Think he'll ever get it into his head?" The Toa of Stone asked quietly. Gali sighed.

"I hope so…He's just killing himself by doing all of this…Think Kajuni or Bakuma would know?" The fifteen year old shook his head.

"Kajuni's out trying to find Tahu, and Bakuma gives me the creeps. He's decent, yeah, but there's just something about looking kinda like Nidihki that really creeps me out…Could try and find Norik though."

"Not really." Gali replied solemnly. "He's trying to hide Matoro in case the Visorak break in." An eerie silence swept over the pair after she said this, both knowing that it was only a matter of time before the Rahi raiding party would be upon them. Gali found herself with tears rolling down her face as she whimpered. "We're doomed, aren't we…" She was surprised when someone other than Pohatu answered her highly pessimistic question.

"You're starting to sound like Mihkoro, little one. He's sure we're going down as well, even if he doesn't show it." Both teenagers turned, eyes widening somewhat when they looked the being over. He was tall and handsome for the most part, his forest green eyes reflecting a sense of calmness. His hair was darker green than his eyes were, was relatively messy, and chin length. Like most other Toa and Matoran of Plantlife, his ears were a little longer than usual when compared to others, and were pointed. Dark, richly colored green moss was growing in patches on his arms and muscular torso, and emerald green, tribal looking patterns decorated his sharply featured face. However, none of this was quiet as freakish or strange as his lower torso and legs. For instead of having normal, bi-pedal features…

Bakuma was a quadruped, mutated to bear the features of a Visorak or some other bug-like Rahi. Gali had always been afraid to know what'd caused such horrific changes, and thus terrified to ask the twenty-eight year old about it. And now here he was, looking down at the two Toa Mata with obvious amusement. Finally finding her voice, Gali asked nervously.

"He doesn't think we're going to escape either?" Bakuma shook his head.

"Mihkoro is a first-class pessimist. If something can go wrong, he'd be the first to point it out. Please, for the sake of everyone else here, try to believe we'll escape. Besides, we've got something that the Visorak don't have."

"Oh?" Pohatu asked. "What's that?" The Mutant grinned as the boy asked this.

"Well, other than the fact we're way better looking, we have Mata Nui on our side, and a lot of luck to go with it as well." Gali couldn't help but giggle at that statement.

"You've got a point. Okay, I'll believe you. Just…don't let me down, okay?" Bakuma laughed.

"Wouldn't dream of it." That was when Mihkoro came into view, adjusting his jet black, slayer-style jacket and seeming ready for a fight. Bakuma and the other two Toa Mata looked over at him with curiosity, all three wondering what was going on.

"I'm going to send you to the Archives once I have enough strength to do it. I need you to find anything you can about the Visorak, and how to stop them." Pohatu blinked.

"What about you?" He asked with obvious concern. Mihkoro gave a grim smile.

"I'm going to stay here and help fight the Visorak off. With any luck I'll be able to buy some time for the others to escape. Just focus on what you're doing, and I'll focus on what I'm doing. We'll make it out okay if we do that." Bakuma raised an eyebrow, seeming amused.

"Just don't kill yourself." He teased. "Hera would murder you if you did." Mihkoro gave a faint laugh.

"I see what you did there. Don't worry about me though. All you have to do is behave for these two Toa." Bakuma's jovial laugh was cut short as a resounding bang echoed through the Great Temple, shaking dust off of various surfaces around them. The siege had begun. Gali shivered as she looked around nervously, watching as a tall, darkly tanned woman with pearly white hair hurried past, a look of grim determination on her face.

"Hera sure looks cranky right now…" Bakuma said quietly. "Mihkoro, are you sure you don't want her to go with these two instead?" The dark Toa shook his head grimly.

"I tried to convince her to do that, but she refused. Said that leaving Norik on his own with…" He was cut off by another resounding bang, and scowled.

"Come on, they're going to need help holding up the barricade. I'll send you off once I've got enough energy stored up to do so." Giving a slight nod, Bakuma headed off for the main entry with Mihkoro, Pohatu and Gali close behind. AS they went, Pohatu asked.

"Who doesn't she want Norik alone with?" Though he couldn't see it, the Toa of Stone was positive that the dark Toa was frowning.

"I'll tell you later. For now just stay focussed. We can't let those abominations get in here without a serious fight for it!" Pohatu nodded slightly.

"That works for me." Again the crashing noise rang out, and a disgruntled voice shouted.

"Quick-hurry up! I can't keep this shot-stopped all day!" Rounding a corner, they came within view of the main doors, which were being held shut with piled up debris, old furniture, and heavy looking wooden posts that were most likely torn off of some other building or other structure in or near the Temple. It was by one of these beams that Gali and Pohatu saw a highly strange looking being. His skin was an odd, dusty-green color with green, iridescent scales on his lower arms, and his clawed hands. His eyes were lemon yellow with cat-like pupils, and protruding from his back was a set of dragonfly-like wings, though they folded down like a damsel fly's wings. Mihkoro frowned further as he ran to help put the post back in place.

"Pipe down, Iruni." He grunted. "You'll just add to the stress, and we both know how irritable certain people get when there's a high stress level." Iruni rolled his eyes as his wings spread a little.

"She's always irritable these days, and you know it. It's a wonder-miracle that she isn't mask-cracked yet." The dark Toa shot him a scowl, anger obvious in his eyes.

"Are you saying that my wife is borderline insane?" Bakuma spoke up as he, Gali and Pohatu moved closer.

"That's enough, both of you. Stress is affecting all of us, whether we like admitting to it or not. Just stay focussed and we'll be okay. We're Toa, not Matoran. There's no need to freak out about what's going on." That was when, with another crashing noise, part of the door broke, leaving a hole that was almost large enough for a Visorak to fit through. Pohatu swallowed.

"Now can we stress out?" Bakuma shivered.

"Y-yeah…you can stress out now."


	16. Chapter 15: The Siege

The sound of cracking wood rang out around them as more of the door broke away and the Visorak began to crawl through the hole. A bolt of lightning shot from the darkness as a white-haired woman moved into view, her piercingly bright yellow eyes seeming to glow with rage and hatred for the arachnoid Rahi that were pouring in. The bolt of electricity found its mark, frying the Visorak that it hit and arching to another, killing it as well. Bakuma's eyes narrowed as he held his hands out, palm up. Thorn-riddled vines shot froth from the mossy patches on his wrists, entangling two more of the abominations and crushing them as the deadly tendrils broke off of the Toa's frame, falling to the floor and withering within moments. Out of the corner of Pohatu's eye, he saw Iruini launch an energy disk of his own at one of the attacking creatures, striking it and causing web like strands of energy to wrap around its legs, causing it to fall from the doorway and out of sight.

"Oy! A little help would be appreciated!" Pohatu and Gali both looked towards the voice, discovering that Mihkoro was fighting off no less than three Visorak. Narrowly avoiding an acid green disk, which melted the section of floor that it hit as Gali ducked, the two Toa Mata ran towards their older companion, Gali blasting one of the Visorak back with a jet of water from her palm, and Pohatu hitting one with a piece of rubble that he'd kicked on the way over. Glancing briefly at the two Rahi as they rolled past, Mihkoro barked out a faint laugh.

"I don't care what Metru you're from, that had to hurt!" Pohatu laughed lightly as he turned his gaze to the next oncoming Visorak, just in time to avoid another energy disk. As he did so, the Toa of Stone asked, watching as it left a burn mark on the floor.

"What exactly are those energy disks called anyway?" Iruini frowned as he threw another disk of his own.

"They're name-called Rhotuka, and sting like crazy when you get hit with one."

"I know that last part. But how can you throw them?" The mutated being rolled his eyes.

"Don't bother asking about it. Just quick-fight!" Pohatu sighed quietly, but heeded Iruini's response, kicking another rock and knocking several Visorak right off the wall. That was when he heard Gali scream. Turning just in time to see her get hit with a pale yellow Rhotuka, the Toa of Stone ran towards her, managing to catch the temporarily paralyzed girl before she hit the floor. Now Pohatu had a problem. He couldn't fight and hold Gali at the same time, and setting her down would risk her being taken while he had his attention divided.

"I need some help over here!" Hera, it seemed, was the only one who heard him that was able to help. Racing over and blasting away several of the spider-like Rahi with electricity, she said hurriedly.

"Stick close to Mihkoro. He needs your help as much as you need his!" Pohatu gave a quick nod before hurrying closer to Mihkoro, holding Gali close the whole time. Once he got there, the dark Toa glanced at him and commented, his expression and tone grim.

"I'm almost ready. Stick close so I can send you two through." Pohatu blinked.

"Two?" He asked. "What about Toa Bakuma? He's still coming…right?" Mihkoro didn't answer, but his expression told it all; the mutated Toa had been brought down and taken.

"…Iruini is going with you instead. I would've preferred Hera or Kajuni, but Hera refused and Kajuni's somewhere outside. I'm not leaving until everyone else is safe, which means you're either on your own or with Iruini, and considering the current state of the city, and Gali, I'm not going to let you just run off on your own." Pohatu gave a weak nod, kicking a nearby piece of debris and hitting a Visorak that was closing in on them.

"…Is Bakuma going to be okay? They won't kill him…will they?" The dark Toa sighed as he hurled a fireball at one of the other Rahi, his expression one of concern.

"I'm not sure, Pohatu. For all I know he could be dead already. But dwelling on that fact won't help us make it out alive." Turning, he cut down another Visorak as it got within range. Even as he looked around and dodged a Rhotuka that'd been aimed at his head, there was no hiding or denying that something was weighing heavily on Mihkoro's mind. Pohatu noticed it easily, and as he ducked under another energy disk, he asked worriedly.

"What's bothering you, Mihkoro? …Well, other than the obvious fact that we're in the middle of a bug-infested apocalypse and trying to last out a siege." The dark Toa gave a faint and hollow laugh.

"Amusing choice of words. Anyway, what bothers me is Vakama. What if we can't bring him to his senses? I've killed many people in the past. Too many people. I don't want to add him to the list as well. I don't even know if I could bring myself to finish him off." Pohatu shook his head before moving out of the way as Mihkoro killed off another Visorak.

"I don't think any of us could, Mihkoro… Vakama will be alright. We just have to have faith."

"Yeah…I guess you're right." He hesitated a moment, looking around and soon locating Iruini. Taking note of the Rahaga's location, he shouted. "Iruini get over here! It's time to go!" Hearing the dark Toa's words, the mutated man started towards them, ducking and dodging as more Rhotuka were flung his way.

"I'm quick-coming! Just open the portal-door and get those two through it!" Heeding the Rahaga's advice, Mihkoro quickly moved his hand around in front of him, as though drawing a doorway with his fingertips. Shadowy lines trailed after his hand's movement, and as he finished, the center area filled in, leaving a swirling mass of shadows where the outline had been. Looking at Pohatu, he said urgently.

"Hurry, take Gali and get out of here. Iruini will be right behind you."

"But what about you?"

"Don't worry about me. Now go!" Before Pohatu even had time to argue, Mihkoro had put a hand on him and pushed, sending him stumbling through the portal with Gali still in his arms.

The boy tumbled out into an almost pitch-black tunnel, managing to twist his personage so Gali landed on him instead of the floor. Groaning dazedly, the Toa of Stone pushed himself into a sitting position, now watching the black portal that Mihkoro had pushed them through. What felt like ages passed before the shadows swirled again, seeming to spit Iruini out before it faded, leaving the trio on their own, with no way to get back. The Rahaga groaned irritably as he picked himself up and started to fuss with his fragile looking wings.

"That wife of his really needs to listen-obey sometimes." Pohatu cleared his throat, catching the adult's attention.

"Sir, not to be a pain, but we really need to get moving and we don't have a flashlight. Any idea what we can do about it?" Iruini huffed quietly and shook his head.

"Not a clue. All I know is that Mihkoro really has poor-bad planning skills." Gali managed to recover her voice.

"What about one of those glowing disks you were throwing earlier? Would that work? We can't do anything without having something to use as a light…" The Rahaga blinked as he thought over her suggestion.

"…good thought-plan." However, not long after Iruini's Rhotuka was glowing bright enough, the sound of numerous footsteps echoed to them. Someone was coming.


	17. Chapter 16: Hints of a Hero

"No! Vakama please don't do this!" The Hordika laughed coldly at her plea.

"Why not, Nokama?" He sneered, a malicious gleam in his now acid green eyes as he watched her struggle with the webs that held her back. "I've heard you scream before…How would this be different? Everyone dies in the end." By now the twenty-six year old woman was crying, her pale face slowly reddening as tears streamed down her cheeks and dripped off her chin. Her crying grew harder as Vakama drew out a long, curved knife, readying it to finish his girlfriend off for good.

"Vakama p-please don't!" A bloodthirsty sneer formed on the mutated Toa's face, the gleam in his eyes betraying all of his already obvious insanity. Without any words of apology, he drove the blade down…

And sat bolt upright, letting out a strangled scream of panic. "Nokama!" Gasping for breath and looking around in horror, his panic and fear slowed as he realized it had only been a dream. He was in his quarters in the Coliseum, the window was open, and everything other than Vakama's bed was in order. Sighing, the mutant Toa ran a shaky hand through his sweat-drenched hair, wincing as his claws scraped lightly against his scalp.

"Another nightmare?" A soft, almost seductive voice asked. The Hordika blinked, his gaze coming to rest on the tall, rather shapely woman who was now standing just inside the doorway. Her skin was fair and mildly tanned, her eyes a pale blue. Long, silvery-blue hair draped down over her shoulders like silk, trailing down her frame and ending just centimetres above her waist. She wore an outfit consisting of a velvet torso and skirt, jet black in color with silver threads embroidering a web-like pattern in the front from top to bottom, as well as around the hems of the skirt, which was long enough to just cover her feet from view. The chest segment was low cut in a V shape, and though it wasn't overly revealing, it certainly was lower than most women Vakama had seen would've been comfortable with wearing in public. The sleeves of her dress were long and flowy, and the same color as the silver thread work on the rest of the dress, with black thread mimicking the web pattern that decorated the black velvet.

Vakama's eyes widened as he scrambled out of bed, hurriedly kneeling before the powerful looking woman, his head bowed and eyes closed as he stammered. "M-my queen…forgive my unseemly appearance and my disturbance of your…" He paused, opening his eyes and blinking as the woman's laughter softly echoed in his ears. Looking up, he watched with confusion as she walked closer, lightly resting a fair, long-fingered hand on his shoulder and saying, her voice holding obvious amusement.

"Oh Vakama, you don't need that sort of formality at this hour. It's the middle of the night, and your mind is troubled." She paused to let this sink in first before continuing. "There is something I want to show you. I'm sure it will take your mind off of your dream." The Hordika watched as she removed her hand and moved to the doorway before looking over her shoulder at him. "Come, Vakama." The twenty-six year old hurriedly stood and walked after her, shakily trying to fix his messy red hair, though it was in vain.

Eventually they reached a long, web-less and empty hallway, with no doors save for the one at the far end. Vakama looked it over with curiosity, taking note of the two sets of locks. The longer he looked at it, the more interested in this door he became. "My queen," He asked quietly. "Forgive my questioning, but what's in there?" A faint, mysterious smile formed on the woman's face as she kept her gaze fixed on the door.

"A secret in case something goes wrong. Sidorak doesn't even know about this. It's our little secret, Vakama, don't break this trust." He gave a slight nod, shivers shooting down his spine as he recalled what happened to Visorak that made her angry, and he knew full well that jumping off the Coliseum without a parachute was a recipe for suicide.

By now they had reached the door, and the woman was pulling a set of keys from a hidden pocket on her dress, located in the upper left portion of her neckline. A dark and almost sinister smile crossed her face as she unlocked the door and pulled it open, Vakama following closely behind her as she went inside.

The room beyond the door was dark and dismal, with no lighting save the one grimy window and the dim light coming from a peculiar looking pod that was rigged up to a machine in the floor. Watching as his queen moved towards a dark, crystalline formation on one of the walls, the Hordika hesitated before approaching the pod, wiping the dust off of it's small window to try and see what was inside. He was horrified with what he found.

Inside the pod was a young Ga-Matoran, no older than Matau or Onewa, and incredibly pretty. Her hair was a dark and dusty blue color, her skin exceedingly pale. Her eyes were closed presently, her expression sad. From what Vakama could make out, she was wearing a navy blue hoodie, had a pair of dark framed, rectangular glasses and… The Hordika blinked, staring at the pendant that hung at her neck. He'd seen it before somewhere. That was when a flashback struck.

^v^

"Hey! Hey Vakama-Brother!" Said Toa blinked and turned to look as Matau ran over, holding a small, yet fancy box in his hand. "Vakama-Brother," The Toa of Air exclaimed again, looking excited as he skidded to a stop. "I need your opinion-thought on something really important!" Vakama raised an eyebrow, wondering what got his Brother so revved.

"Alright." He commented. "What's the problem?" Matau beamed at him, lifting the forest green, velvet covered box he was holding, and opened it. Inside was a beautiful, silver pendant shaped like a pair of wings, folded down and seeming to cradle a flawless looking, tinted green lightstone shard between them. Vakama smiled as he looked the expensive accessory over.

"It's beautiful, Matau." He said, staring at the incredibly crafted necklace. "But who's it for?" The winged Toa grinned even more, looking just about ready to burst with glee.

"It's for my true-heart girl! I wasn't sure if it was nice enough, so I just had to quick-ask about it!" Vakama blinked before grinning.

"You've got a girlfriend? Matau that's wonderful! What's she like? You've got to introduce us sometime!" Matau beamed at him excitedly.

"I'm just on my way to meet-see her now if you wanted to come along! She'd be ever-happy to meet-see you, I'm sure!" As he said this, the Toa of Air closed the velvet box and slipped it into his pocket. Laughing cheerily, overjoyed at his Brother's luck, Vakama hurried after Matau, eager to meet the girl that believed the Air Toa was Mr. Right.

^v^

"…Hlahlu…" Vakama breathed, half relieved to see her, and half devastated at her condition.

"Oh, so that's what her name was." He blinked, turning and looking up at his 'queen' with surprise. "I was wondering who she was. No matter, she won't remember it when she wakes up." The Hordika's face paled somewhat.

"Sh-she won't? Why not? What happened to her?" The woman smirked.

"Her memories have been erased, Vakama. I want her to continue in my stead if my task goes uncompleted. I don't trust Sidorak with running things. He's never been smart." Vakama's clawed hands clenched into fists as he snarled, ignoring that his nails were digging into his palms.

"I-I won't let you use her like that Roodaka! She's far too sensitive and loving to take over if you die!" The woman's eyes narrowed as she looked at him.

"She will be strong enough when she wakes. Do not argue with me, lest I consider you to be a traitor." Vakama's more loyal side made him cringe and he took a few steps back, looking down at the floor in shame and mild fear.

"Forgive me, my queen. I don't know what came over me." Roodaka sighed, shaking her head and looking him over with a mix of mild irritation and tiredness.

"It's probably just backlash from your nightmare. Go back to bed and sleep it off." The Hordika gave a slight nod as he turned and headed out of the room. However, getting some sleep wasn't what he intended to do. Not after seeing what he had. All he had to do was wait.

He waited for approximately ten minutes, staring at the ceiling as he worked out a plan. This wasn't going to be easy to pull off, especially considering how noisy it could end up being. Debate began to take place in his mind. Was it worth the risk? What if he screwed up and got Hlahlu killed? Sighing, Vakama got up and stretched. It was do or die, he decided, and he wasn't about to lose another chance like this, there was no knowing if he would ever get it again. Padding quietly over to the door, and looking out, Vakama gave a faint and almost emotionless smile as he discovered that his path was clear.

"This is suicide…" He thought grimly as he silently left his room and started off down the hallway, constantly looking over his surroundings in case someone or something was watching him. However, to both his mild relief and evident unease, everything was as it should be, and eerily silent. The whole way to the locked door was uneventful, other than when Vakama scared himself silly by tripping over a stray Visorak web. Heart still racing as he tried the door handle, only to discover it was locked, the Hordika glanced warily over his shoulder. Still no sign of problems. Giving a faint smile, though it was hollow and somewhat grim, he turned his attention back to the door and rested a clawed hand on the locks. Waves of heat coursed through his arms and left his palm, heating the metal and soon making it pliable enough to break with relative ease. Again he turned the knob and pulled, the partially melted metal bending and breaking as he applied more pressure.

Soon he was in the chamber beyond, and was trying to figure out a way to break Hlahlu out of her pod. As far as he could see, there was no keypad, lock, or other object that could be used to access her. When he could find no way to open the capsule-like prison, he sighed with defeat, a few stray tears rolling down his face as he looked through the pod's window, murmuring quietly, his gaze looking over the trapped Matoran within.

"I'm so sorry, Hlahlu…I can't find a way to break you out of there…" Weakly he leaned his head against the capsule's glass, his head turned to the side as his eyes looked around the room in a last ditch effort to discover a way to save Matau's girlfriend. That was when he saw it. Blinking slowly, he stood as upright as his mutated frame would allow before crossing the room and looking out the grimy window. A weak smile crossed his face as the Toa Hordika found himself looking out over Ta-Metru, and seeing a faint light, the color of which indicating right away that someone had started a fire. Turning and looking at the pod, he said, now sounding like he had a bit of hope for the situation.

"I'll be right back, Hlahlu. I've got an idea." With that said, he raced from the room as quietly as he could, hurrying down the hall and taking a swipe at the first strands of web he could find. Cutting several into long segments, Vakama then picked them up and headed back to Hlahlu's room, closing and barricading the door once he was inside. Soon he was hard at work, though just what he was doing was anyone's guess. Melting two metal rods he'd found and making sure they stuck to the floor firmly, the Hordika set about tying the webs between them before moving and leaning against them, testing the strength and elasticity of his new setup. Blinking and staggering forward when he released the tension, Vakama gave a small grin.

"Perfect!" He then turned and moved over to Hlahlu's prison, taking hold of it and struggling to pull it free. It wasn't easy, but with a loud, snap-like noise, he managed to pick it up. Grunting as he moved the pod, Vakama had barely got it into position before there was banging on the door. He froze for a few seconds, panicking a bit, though he quickly caught control of himself again and pulled, drawing the capsule closer to himself and stretching the web as he backed up. Carefully he took aim, releasing the web once he was certain he had the right angle, sending Hlahlu's pod smashing through the window and out of sight. Unfortunately, part of the web was sticky, had stuck to his hand, and launched him forward, breaking the webbing and leaving Vakama tangled in it below the broken window…just in time for the door to bust open, Roodaka looking around in shock. Soon her gaze fell to the webbed up Hordika, and her eyes narrowed.

"You'd better come up with a good reason for being in here, Vakama, because my patience is waning." The dazed mutant gave a weak nod.

"It was Matau, my queen…I heard him in here and tried to stop him…H-he took the Matoran…" The Vortixx scowled.

"How do I know you aren't lying to me?" Vakama gave a weak smile.

"Would I ever lie to you?"


	18. Chapter 17: Saved by a Scavenger

Matau sighed heavily as he looked around. What part of Ta-Metru was this? Getting lost during the forge attack hadn't helped, and along with his lack of navigation skills, it added up to being utterly clueless about where he was. "Figure's I'd get the dark-luck of getting lost…" The sickening feeling that someone had been hurt was now growing stronger with every passing minute, and the Hordika couldn't help but wonder if he was going the right way or not. He was about to complain some more about the unfairness of it all, when the sound of crumbling stone came to his attention. Eyes widening a bit as he turned to look towards the source of the noise, Matau unfurled his wings, talon-like fingers ready to strike, and legs tensed in case he needed to take flight.

"Show yourself!" No response. The Hordika frowned as he cautiously approached the location of disturbance, his feathery crest lifting and fanning out a bit as he spoke again. "Who's there? Show yourself!" That was when he heard a familiar voice, sounding utterly relieved.

"Matau! Oh thank Mata Nui you're alright!" Before the winged mutant had a chance to react, he found himself being embraced by a female Hordika with light blue hair, and tears streaming down her scaly face. Quickly realizing who this was, the twenty-two year old hugged her back, relief washing over him like a flood.

"Nokama…I'm ever-glad to see you too. Are you bad-hurt? Are the others okay-fine?" That was when Matau saw someone else was there as well. He looked to be around fifteen years old, with well tanned skin and fiery red eyes. His hair was messy and chin-length, not to mention a remarkably bright shade of burnt orange. As far as his clothing was concerned, he was wearing a red tank-top that looked as though it was too large, not to mention had seen better days. His jeans were dark grey and fraying around the bottoms, as well as showing signs of severe wear on the knees. His boots on the other hand, seemed relatively new, and were black with red laces. His expression was grim, though seeing Matau seemed to make him slightly happier.

"It's good to see you again, Toa Matau. I was starting to think you were dead." The mutated twenty-two year old blinked, looking the teenager over with surprise.

"Tahu-friend? I-is that you? Why are you back? How? Where are the other successor-kids?" Tahu gave a slight nod and a grim, saddened smile.

"Yeah, it's me. We came back because six years is far too long to be away from home. As for the others…" His smile faded. "Toa Lhikan died to protect us shortly after we got back, and the remaining six of us were split up. I…I don't know where the others are. It was just lucky that Toa Nokama found me when she did. Otherwise…" He sighed, shaking his head a little. "Well, let's just say I'd be dead by now." Matau swallowed, looking highly nervous. Of all the people to die, he'd never have expected it to be Lhikan. In fact, though he didn't admit it out loud, he'd thought that Tahu would be the one to get killed, and probably not missed that much.

"O-oh…" He finally managed to say. "Th-that's ever-good to know…" Nokama grimaced as she thought the situation over, shaking her head finally and saying.

"Matau, we need somewhere that we can light a fire. Tahu nearly drowned earlier, and he's been shivering ever since." The twenty-two year old gave a slight nod as he turned and started walking.

"Just quick-follow me. I saw somewhere that'd look-seemed like it'd work." Nokama and Tahu hurried after him, the latter glancing around with unease, and the former staring at the ground by Matau's feet. Silence broken only by the sound of gravel crunching sat heavily around them, until finally Nokama asked quietly.

"Have you heard anything about the others, Matau?" The Hordika shook his head.

"No, actually…are they all out-free now?" She gave a small nod as she glanced around.

"Yes, everyone's free now. We were looking for you actually. Nobody knew what happened to you when you fell. I don't know if Whenua and Nuju split up, but Onewa and I had to separate due to the Visorak…they've been trying to hunt us down ever since we made it out." Matau grimaced a bit as he stopped in front of a partially collapsed house, pushing the door, or what was left of it, open and heading inside, Noakama and Tahu following him. The interior of the building was dusty and well worn seeming, the scent of mildew permeated the air, and the floor was strewn with bits of broken furniture. Nokama looked around the small room with mild interest, smiling a little as she spoke.

"This should do just fine." She then looked at Matau. "There's only one problem with it." He blinked and looked at her. "There's not enough wood here to start a proper fire." Matau thought that through before giving a slight nod.

"I'll go find something we can fire-burn. Just give me a few quick-minutes, and I'll be back." With that said, the twenty-two year old mutant headed back outside.

Wandering around Ta-Metru in search of flammable substances proved to be harder than Matau had originally thought. Between the Visorak, ready-to-collapse buildings, and just general destruction, the Hordika had barely even been able to find the few scraps of wood he was holding, and that in itself had been a harsh and dangerous chore.

"This is mask-cracked…" Matau grumbled under his breath as three Visorak moved past his hiding place. "How am I supposed to way-find anything with all these hazard-problems in the way?" Silencing himself once more and resorting to mental complaining, the twenty-two year old quietly started out again, keeping close watch on his surroundings. It was around this time that he realized that, once again, he had no idea where he was.

"I hate Ta-Metru…" Suddenly, a loud crash resounded from nearby, causing Matau to yelp and duck for cover with his hands over his head, an attempt to shield it from debris that may have fallen. Pressing himself into a large crevasse in a wall beside him, the Hordika waited for the signature noise that betrayed a collapsing building… but the sound never came. He hesitated, opening his eyes and glancing out into the street. Perhaps it was almost ready to fall, and was only moments from doing so. However, when around five minutes passed and nothing happened, Matau slowly relaxed, lowering his hands and sliding back out onto the rubble-strewn street. Now he started to wonder if he should investigate it or not. Most crashing sounds meant nothing but trouble, but at the same time, it could lead him to more burnable objects. Most calculative Toa would've weighed the odds and abandoned the thought of investigating, since chances were high that it wouldn't be worth it.

Matau, however, wasn't calculative, nor cautious about this sort of thing. He never had been, and probably never would be. Live in the now and ask later was a phrase he unconsciously lived by, and old habits always die hard. And so, smiling to himself at the thought of a large firewood supply, Matau started walking. However, firewood was only a portion of what he would find. The rest was worth much, much more.

When he finally located the crash site, he was surprised to see a large, cylindrical capsule lying on top of what was once a small shed. Blinking as he moved closer, Matau took note of the small, mostly shattered window that was on the capsule's front, the frame of a person just barely visible within. The Hordika tilted his head slightly at this.

"Eh?" As he drew closer, however, the face was growing to be very familiar. By the time he'd reached the pod, he already knew who it was. Eyes a little wider than normal, his expression became one of alarm. "H-Hlahlu?" As the realization sunk in, the twenty-two year old started to frantically try and get the capsule open, scraping his clawed fingers more than a few times during the process. Tears welled up in his yellow, hawk-like eyes as desperation began to set in, and as the tears started to slide down his partially feathered face, Matau whimpered, shakily reaching through the pod's window and carefully stroking the Ga-Matoran's dark, dusty blue hair.

"Hlahlu, p-please wake up…" Her frame was cold to the touch, almost as though she were dead. However, as the Hordika lightly trailed his fingers along her pale cheek, she twitched. Her breathing grew deeper and more noticeable soon after, and as the color began to return to her face, a weak moan escaped her lips. Matau's heart skilled a beat, and as he withdrew his hand to continue searching for a way to open the pot, he said hopefully, his voice sounding quite shaky.

"Hlahlu, please wake up… y-you're gonna be okay-fine…" Mostly his talking was simply to convince himself, but if she could hear him, he wouldn't have minded at all. A panel on the capsule shifted now as the Hordika's hand bumped against it. Blinking as he pushed on it Matau gave a weak grin as he looked over the hand-shaped indent that was revealed. Putting his hand on the plate, he gave a slight yelp, eyes widening as it shone pale green. He could feel his power slowly draining away, though it stopped not long after, and a loud click told him that the pod was now unlocked. Grinning even more as the tears streamed down his face the mutant pushed on the pod the top half sliding effortlessly at his touch and falling to the ground. Within moments, Matau had removed the straps that'd held Hlahlu down, now holding her slender frame close as he crouched there beside her former prison. The Ga-Matoran's eyes opened slowly now as she woke up. Shivering a little as her sunset orange eyes met his yellow ones, she whispered, sounding as though she were severely dehydrated.

"M-Matau…?" The Hordika gave a weak laugh as he nodded, though inwardly he was terrified about her condition. She was extremely light, not to mention severely thin, and even though she was awake now, she was still incredibly pale.

"Yes, Hlahlu," He whispered, trying and failing to hide both his excitement and his concern. "I'm Matau. What did they do to you? Are you okay-fine? Did they even feed you? How long were you capsule-trapped? Were you pincer-bitten? Can you-" He was cut off as his girlfriend gave a weak giggle.

"You're talking too fast again…" She paused, looking his face over a bit before speaking again. "…you're different…I-I think…can't really remember… Where are we, Matau?" The Hordika grimaced. He didn't like the sounds of this.

"I used to look-appear different. Don't you remember? We're still on Metru Nui too." The Ga-Matoran blinked slowly.

"I can't remember…" She murmured before hesitating, thinking it over a bit. "…Metru Nui?" Matau's grimace turned into a worried frown. Shifting and standing up, cradling Hlahlu in his arms and being careful not to scratch her, the Hordika closed one of his taloned feet around several large pieces of wood, and as he started the long trip back to Nokama and Tahu, he replied softly.

"I'll explain-tell you about it later."

^v^

What felt like hours of ducking, dodging and hiding later, Matau finally made it back to the others, and said as he headed into the makeshift shelter. "I'm back, and I way-found someone." Nokama blinked as she looked up at him from the pile of old blankets and moth-eaten cushions she'd managed to find. Tahu glanced over from a corner of the room, huddled up in a blanket and seeming rather shocked at the news. Craning his neck to get a better look, the Toa of Fire asked.

"Who'd you find? Is he or she okay?"

"I'm not sure-certain." He replied quietly. "But I know Hlahlu's not as okay-fine as she should be." Tahu grimaced at the assessment. Nokama, however, looked alarmed.

"You found Hlahlu? Where?"

"She was in a large capsule-pod." Matau replied. "I just way-found it on top of a shatter-broken shed. It look-seemed like the thing was throw-tossed there… dunno who did it though." Nokama mulled this over, taking in every detail for consideration as she moved and started to pile up some of the wood her brought had brought back.

"Well, whatever the reason is," She replied finally. "We can thank Mata Nui that you found her instead of someone else."

"Yeah…" Matau agreed. "Especially since she's gone-lost some memories…anyway, what big-matters now is that she gets warm-heated. She's too shiver-cold right now." Giving a slight nod, Nokama reached behind herself, pulling one of the old blankets off the pile and handing it over. After he'd accepted it and started to bundle Hlahlu up with it, the Hordika of Water looked at Tahu.

"Mind lighting the fire for me?" Tahu gave a slight nod, moving close, poking at the wood a few times and lighting it. "Thank you. Now get yourself warmed up." She then turned her gaze to Matau, opened her mouth to speak… and then smiled as she closed it again. For low and behold, the Toa Hordika of Air had fallen asleep, Hlahlu bundled up in the blanket with her lover's arms wrapped around her, and both of them at peace. Nokama looked them over for a few moments as she continued to smile.

"Good night to you too, Matau."


	19. Chapter 18: Deadly Discovery

"Now what do we do?" Pohatu asked nervously, eyes wide as he looked at Iruini. Where could they go? How could they tell what was moving in on them? Whatever it was had been persistent enough to follow them down several long and winding tunnels, and by this point Iruini was starting to get tired. Puffing quietly as he looked behind them, towards the echoing sound of footsteps, the Rahaga gasped out.

"You and Gali go into that hallway and hide. I'll go down the one beside me. If we're lucky, we can catch this thing in a crossfire and bring it down." Gali swallowed.

"And if that doesn't work?" She asked nervously. Iruini grimaced.

"We'll deal with that if it happens. Now move!" The two teenagers nodded and headed into the tunnel Iruini had indicated, Gali holding onto Pohatu's hand tightly the whole time and trying not to stumble on bits of debris that'd fallen from the ceiling. Iruini's Rhotuka could still be seen, though it was faint, and as whatever had been following them drew closer, a light was growing steadily brighter. Pohatu blinked at this, leaning forwards a bit to try and get a better look, though Gali pulled him back, hands trembling as she whispered.

"What if it sees you?" He had to admit she had a point, and even if she hadn't he would've moved back simply because she was scared. Giving her a reassuring smile, he whispered back.

"Don't worry Gali. I'm not going anywhere." Nervously, she squeezed his hand, her own incredibly sweaty, though remarkably not grotesque and warm. Pohatu gave a light squeeze in return as he looked back into the other hall. By now the creature was moving into view, and when he saw just what it was, Pohatu was not only shocked out of his wits, but also devastated, if not utterly horrified.

The creature was tall and well muscled, with pale, silvery-grey fur covering his lower arms, what could be seen of his deformed legs, his large and wolf-like feet, and his back. Not only did he have fur on his frame, he also had a silver-grey, wolf-like tail, the fur on the tip of it pearly white. His fur-covered hands were, for the most part, normal, as his palms were bare, and he had four fingers and a thumb on each, but his fingernails were charcoal grey in color, long, and appeared to be incredibly sharp. His hair, on the other hand, was pearly white, messy, and ear-length, his eyes wolf-like and a feral, icy blue.

As far as clothing was concerned he was wearing a pair of ripped up, three-quarter –length, dusty grey pants, and had what resembled bandage strips covering his chest from the armpits down to his waist. A dark grey shackle was clamped around his left ankle, around five inches of chain hanging off of it, and hanging at his neck was a thin, silver chain on which a golden wedding band hung.

Despite the horrific mutations, Pohatu and Gali had recognized the Hordika at once. Both ran towards him, tears streaming down Gali's cheeks as she hugged the mutated Toa of Ice. He staggered as the fourteen year old virtually ran into him, looking highly alarmed and blinking several times as he lifted the lightstone lantern he was holding, looking the two Toa Mata over with surprise.

"Pohatu? Gali? What in Mata Nui's name are you doing here? Where are the others?" Pohatu shook his head a bit, still just too relieved to see that Nuju was actually alive.

"It's a long story." He replied with a weak grimace. "But to put it simply, we came back, got split up, and just ended up finding you." Iruini moved into view now, his expression an unimpressed one. Looking Nuju over as though sizing him up, the Rahaga commented.

"Ever-good to see that you're still sane-minded. But what are you doing down here, and why were you following us? You nearly got yourself attacked." The Hordika sighed, his expression a grim one.

"I couldn't be sure if you were allies or enemies. Whenua nearly got tricked by one of the Visorak earlier, and I wasn't about to risk falling to something similar." Iruini thought his words over for a little while before getting a suspicious gleam in his eyes.

"If Hordika Whenua nearly got clever-tricked, where is he now?" Nuju's grimace grew a little bigger.

"He brought a tunnel wall down to cut some of the Visorak off. His calculations were off though and we were split up. Not only that, but his power seemed a bit more out of control than it should have been. Something about this mutation either gave us more power, or just made it harder to handle."

"He's okay though, right?" Gali asked. "I mean, Whenua's going to make it?" The Hordika shook his head, sighing quietly. After a moment of hesitation, he replied finally.

"I'm not sure, Gali, but I fear for the worst. The only other way out of that passage, as far as I know, was through the Visorak, and I doubt that even Whenua would be able to fight out of that." He glanced around a bit now, his expression grim and his fur bristling. "We need to move." Iruini glanced around now too, looking for danger whilst Pohatu and Gali exchanged looks of confusion and unease.

"Which direction?" Iruini asked quietly, giving a brief and incredibly serious glance to Nuju. The mutated Toa of Ice grimaced again, his expression grave and the gleam in his eyes betraying his own fear.

"We want to go left. Now." No sooner had he finished speaking than a grey energy disk hurtled out of the darkness, striking Iruini and sending him crashing to the floor in an untidy heap. Gali nearly screamed, Pohatu's hand cutting her off as he covered her mouth. Nuju pushed his lantern into Gali's hands. "Run. Don't look back, and don't make any noise." Before the Toa of Water even had a chance to argue, Pohatu picked her up, bridal style, and took off down the hallway, his grip on Gali tight, though not crushingly so.

"What about Toa Nuju, or Iruini?" Gali asked frantically, though she kept her voice down. "We can't just leave them!" Pohatu shook his head.

"You heard what he said; don't turn back, don't make too much noise. He's counting on us to listen to him. Besides, he knows what he's doing." Gali was about to respond, but a resounding crash rang out first. Both teenagers winced, and Gali murmured.

"Are you sure about that still?"

"Uhm… I-I think so?" Glancing around, Pohatu veered off down a corridor on the right, skidding to a stop just one or two feet away from what remained of a collapsed segment of wall. "Hey Gali… got any other ideas? Because now would be a really good time for a plan." The fourteen year old squirmed her way out of his arms and looked the rubble heap over.

"Hm… seems fairly solid, b-but we might be able to push some of it away to climb over…or we could turn back and try to find another path." Pohatu thought it over for a few moments, looking between the rubble and the hall they'd just come from. It didn't take long for him to decide.

"Let's try and get past this rock." Moving over to the debris, the Toa of Stone started to climb it, pushing on different pieces from time to time before finally making one fall backwards and out of sight. "Hey, let's try up here. Do you need a hand up?" As he asked this, Pohatu had turned to look at her, only to discover that his Sister was already climbing, the lightstone lantern hanging off one of her battle hooks. Smiling a little, she looked up at him and replied.

"No thanks. I got it covered. Let's just get this done before anyone else finds us." Pohatu gave her an awkward grin as he nodded and turned his attention back to what he was doing. It surprised him to find that, with Gali's help of course, they were able to shift a lot of debris without making that much of a ruckus… well, almost Pohatu had just pushed on another large stone when, much to his surprise, as well as Gali's, the entire section he was leaning on fell away, dropping the startled fifteen year old into the chamber beyond. Letting out a yelp as he fell, earning a faint shriek from Gali, he rolled down the other side of the debris pile, ending up with his back against something cold and eerily fleshy in certain areas. Gali soon followed him into the chamber, her face going white as she lifted the lantern to see what Pohatu was now leaning against.

"Mata Nui…" The Toa of Stone rolled over and started getting up, taking note of Gali's expression and tone as he did so. Turning as he stood, he looked at the object with curiosity…

And found himself staring at a corpse. Eyes widening, he stumbled back a bit to stand beside Gali, his face paling and his expression sickened. The body was a young and fragile looking woman, fair featured and incredibly thin. Her hair was silvery white, long enough to reach her elbows perhaps, and her slightly open eyes appeared to be, or had been, golden yellow. As for the remains of her clothing, the body was dressed in a robe that may have been white at some point, covered in ornate patterns of gold colored embroidery, and on her ring finger was a golden wedding band. Were she to have still been alive, the woman probably would've been incredibly pretty. Pohatu made a swallowing noise, shivering as he murmured.

"Please tell me I didn't touch her…" Gali shuddered as well.

"…Y-you touched her…" Her Brother looked like he was just about read to throw up by this point, and nearly did, when something else caught his eye. Hands trembling, he managed to take the lantern from Gali, taking hold of her hand with his spare one, and leading her over to an odd, dust covered capsule of some sort. Mustering up just enough will power to speak, he whispered.

"Wh-what do you think is i-in there?" Gali shivered.

"N-not sure… want t-to check it out?" The Toa of Stone gave a weak nod, setting the lantern down and letting go of the fourteen year old's hand before carefully rolling the capsule over. A panel retracted at his touch, it seemed, because part of the strange contraption slid away, revealing the face of a four year old boy. His skin was faintly tanned, his features soft, and his hair, which was shoulder-length, was strawberry blonde with sky blue streaks. Not long after the pod had opened, the small child shifted a bit, showing signs of starting to wake up. Pohatu looked at Gali.

"Uhh… is it just me, o-or did things j-just get weird?" The girl just blinked, staring at the boy with utmost confusion as she moved and carefully pulled him out of the capsule. Grimacing at the boy's cold skin and lack of shirt, she said quietly.

"Pohatu, give him your shirt." The fifteen year old blinked.

"Give him yo-oh… n-never mind what I a-almost said." Ignoring, or trying to ignore, Gali's stern look, the Toa of Stone took his shirt off and handed it over, shivering as the cold air rushed over his now bare skin. "…Gali…" He asked finally. "What are we even going to call him?" She glanced at her brother before pointing out an inscription on the pod's 'door', and as Pohatu took a closer look, he saw that it was a name.

Takua.


	20. Chapter 19: Family Ties

"How are you feeling so far?"

"Huh?" Lewa blinked, looking at Kopaka with obvious surprise. Had he really just asked that? "Um… okay-fine I guess… still bad-sick, but better than before. Why the ever-quick change in thought-care?" The Toa of Ice rolled his eyes as he glanced around. The pair had managed to reach Le-Metru by now, and remarkably, Lewa had been almost completely silent up until now.

"I asked because you looked like you were going to get sick and die. Is there a problem with asking you questions?" His response caught the Toa of Air off guard.

"Umm, no, there isn't. I was just trouble-confused, that's all. I didn't think-figure that you cared." Kopaka snorted quietly as he continued to keep an eye out for danger. He knew that he never really showed concern for the others, but did he really come across as heartless?

"Of course I care." He said finally, giving Lewa the slightest of glances. "You're my Brother, and being annoying won't ever change that." The fourteen year old blinked several times at that response.

"Y-you consider me as a Toa-Brother? Really?"

"Yes, Lewa. You and the others are the only family I've really known. I might not tolerate you sometimes, but that doesn't change anything. You're still there when I need help, even if I don't think I need it. Do you follow me?" Lewa nodded, his expression one of amazement and shock. He'd never expected Kopaka to say anything quite like this. He had always been the loner of the group, the one who did everything on his own and only accepted help when he was outright told to by Toa Lhikan. Just about everything Kopaka had just said was a contradiction to how he normally acted.

"Yeah, it makes sure-sense… but why hide it?" Kopaka didn't respond. Not at first anyway, and when he finally did, it wasn't to answer the question.

"We need to find somewhere to take a small break. No sense in having you possibly collapse if we get attacked." Lewa wanted to press the Toa of Ice for an answer, but thought better of it. He still remembered the last time someone pressed the fifteen year old for answers when he changed the topic. It took a week for Tahu's frostbite to even start fading. Glancing around as he tried to figure out why Kopaka avoided his question, he pointed to a small, shed-like building. It barely looked like it was able to stand as it was, and it almost seemed ominous.

"How 'bout there?" The Toa of Ice blinked a few times as he looked it over. It was obvious that he didn't like the looks of the little shack, and was most likely weighing the risks. Finally he replied.

"It'll do. Just don't touch anything." Lewa tilted his head curiously, but soon figured out why Kopaka said not to touch anything. The last thing they needed was to collapse the shed with them still inside it.

The interior of the rickety old building was damp and dreary, with very little that could be useful for anything required for surviving. Still, it had an actual floor made of wood instead of just being dirt or concrete, and judging by the shredded remains of clothing and sheets, the shed had been used for storing fabric items, though by this point there was very little that was still wearable. Kopaka sat down near the door, careful not to bump the wall. Lewa, in the meantime, settled himself at the far end from the door, hugging his knees and whimpering quietly. Kopaka glanced at him with boredom, rolling his eyes before asking.

"What's wrong this time?" Lewa whimpered again before responding with a faint sniffle.

"M-my back really hurt-stings, a-and it's shiver-cold… I-I want my feather-wings back…" The Toa of Ice mentally groaned. Of all the things to say, he was whining that his wings were gone? He could've at least been upset about the others being somewhere else, not to mention possibly dead, but all he did was snivel about his new lack of wings? Odd sense of priority, Kopaka thought, though considering that it was Lewa he hadn't had great expectations anyways. Deciding that sarcasm was a bad idea at the moment, the Toa of Ice responded quietly.

"I'm sure you do, Lewa. You were probably thrown severely off balance because of losing them… Just don't focus on it too much and you'll be fine. Was there something else you wanted to discuss?" The green haired boy thought a little while before nodding.

"Yeah… what was it like to have sister-siblings? All I ever had was brother-siblings… I'd always wanted a sister-sibling…" Kopaka blinked at the question, though it did make him hesitate. He didn't often think back on his sisters, especially now that he was older. It used to hurt so much to think about them, and even now his heart was heavy at the thought of what'd happened on that fateful night. A few stray tears formed in his eyes as he fought to push the memory from his mind. Sighing finally, he took his headpiece off and looked it over, trailing his fingers along the lens rims as he replied.

"It was one of the best experiences I've ever had. Just growing up with them being there the whole time was an adventure all on its own. Every day would lead to something new and exciting, and hardly a day went by when one of them didn't take me out to go exploring." A small and saddened smile danced across his lips as he recalled some of the places he'd gone with his family. "…I hope you get a chance to have a sister someday, Lewa. They're the best sort of family a person can have." Suddenly, the sound of clicking echoed to them, slowly drawing nearer with each passing moment. Lewa shivered notably as he nervously crawled closer to Kopaka, looking as though he were on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

That was when the floor broke. Lewa screamed, vanishing down the whole that'd cracked open beneath him. Gasping, Kopaka scrambled closer, staring down the pit and imagining the fourteen year old in a mangled heap at the bottom.

"Lewa!" The bottom seemed barely even visible, and lying on the ground in a ball, sobbing, was Lewa, his knees pressed tightly against his chest and his eyes closed. He didn't appear to be moving. Now Kopaka had a choice; to leave his Brother for dead and try to escape, or to go down the hole as well and hope he wasn't going into a trap. The answer was obvious. Carefully, he lowered himself into the gap, climbing down a few timbers used to hold the shaft upright, and then sealing the hole with ice… not a second too late either, for just as it finished forming, the ice was being beaten at by a Visorak. Scowling, Kopaka focussed, icy spikes shooting up and forcing the Rahi to move back. Again the Toa of Ice looked down at Lewa, trying to see if the fourteen year old was still alive, though his location on the wall prevented him from doing so.

"Mata Nui please keep him alive…"

When he finally reached the bottom, nearly falling several times in the process, the Toa of Ice stumbled over to Lewa, shaking him lightly as he said, his voice uneasy and mildly worried in tone. "Lewa, say something! I don't care if it's stupid, just say something!" The younger teen groaned quietly, blearily opening his eyes as he uncurled. Looking up at his Brother with a tired and dazed expression, the green haired youth mumbled weakly.

"Pretty… shine-stars…" Kopaka gave a faint sigh of relief. Shaking his head a little as he hauled the younger Toa to his feet, the fifteen year old commented quietly.

"At least you're still mostly in tact… no mental damage as far as I can see…" Looking around somewhat, Kopaka now faced another problem; he had no light source, a disoriented Toa of Air, and only one, unlit path ahead of him. "…why does life hate me?" Seeing no other real route to take, he started walking down the tunnel, half dragging Lewa as he tried to recover his bearings.

After what felt like ages of stumbling through the pitch black tunnel, Kopaka came across a light source, nestled in the hands of…

"Makito?" Lewa's jaw dropped as he stared, wide-eyed at his eldest brother, his gaze eventually falling to Baku and Onua. His expression one of dumbstruck wonder and relief, he pushed away from Kopaka, stumbling over to them and hugging the oldest group member tightly, tears streaming down his face. Not even noticing the six year old Le-Matoran or four year old Ga-Matoran, both of which were hiding behind Baku and looking terrified, Lewa huddled up close to Makito and whimpered.

"You're alive… th-thank Mata Nui you're alive… I-I thought-figured I'd never see-meet you again…" Makito blinked, taking a few seconds before fully realizing who was holding onto him. Hugging the fourteen year old in return and fighting back his own tears as Baku made the huddle a group hug, he said weakly.

"Boy am I ever-glad to see you, Lewa… I thought-figured you w-were either dead-gone, or never coming back… Are you alright-okay? Nothing crack-broken?" Baku spoke now.

"Not insane either? I don't want a crazy little brother…" Kopaka gave a faint snort.

"No crazier than he usually is…" That was when the four year old girl spoke.

"B-brother?" She nervously toddled over to Makito and his younger siblings, looking up at Lewa with confusion. The fourteen year old blinked and looked down at her, seeming bewildered. Thus, the Ga-Matoran spoke again. "A-are you Lewa? My big brother?"

"Uh… I'm name-called Lewa, if that's what you mean…" He looked quizzically at Baku and Makito now, and asked. "S-since when did we get a sister-sibling?" Baku gave a small laugh at his brother's question.

"You mean your four year old sister and your six year old brother? They were born after you left. Kongu and Hahli are both your siblings, like it or not." Lewa spluttered out some sort of unintelligible nonsense at hearing that. He had always been the youngest, always the 'midget'… but now he had two younger relatives? A small, yet predictably jovial grin spread across his face. Fumbling absently with some of his messy hair, he piped.

"This is the best-great day of my life." However, he was cut off by the sound of clicking coming from the tunnel he'd unintentionally found. Kopaka's ice had broken, and once again the chase was on.


	21. Chapter 20: Oddity

"Run!"

Onua didn't need to say this twice. Baku scooped up Hahli, breaking into a full-on sprint as he turned, Makito close behind and already carrying Kongu on his back. Lewa sped after him, Kopaka and Onua hurrying after him. There wasn't even a point in trying to be quiet by now; the Visorak already knew they were there anyways, and hiding would only get them killed.

"I've got an ever-quick question…" Makito puffed out. "How'd they even way-find us?" Kopaka scowled.

"Ask Lewa. He's the one who broke the floor and screamed." The accused teenager blinked, looking alarmed.

"Hey, I had no say-tell in what happened. It's not my problem-fault if the plank-beams broke."

"That's enough, both of you." Onua commented, his voice holding signs of mild fatigue. "Arguing will only make things worse, for all of us."

"Save the Unity speech for when and if they catch us." Kopaka grunted. "It doesn't matter right now. Our best bet would probably be splitting up. Less chance of them catching all of us." Makito shook his head, keeping his gaze fixed ahead of them.

"Part-splitting is a dark-luck idea. Visorak live-exist for a thrill-chase. If we stay together, we have a better chance of survive-living if it comes down to an anger-fight. Good thought-theory, but it won't work here." That was when Baku tripped, turning so he didn't crush Hahli when he hit the floor. Lewa skidded to a halt, his expression worried. Ignoring Kopaka's shouting to keep going, the fourteen year old hurriedly started to pick up Hahli, though his gaze was fixed on Baku, particularly his legs. The left leg appeared to be fine, maybe just a bit bruised. The right, however, was a disaster. Bent at a highly unnatural angle and bleeding in several places, the twenty-one year old looked blearily up at Lewa, tears streaming down his face. Pain mixed with fear was plain as day in his pale yellow eyes, and as he struggled to get up, he whimpered.

"J-just go… L-leave me behind! I-I'll just slow you down!" Lewa shook his head, free hand trembling as he tried to pull his older brother to his feet. Baku pushed him away. "Go Lewa! I'll make a d-distraction!" Lewa tried to argue, but Onua moved in, picking Baku up and taking off after Makito and Kopaka, with his Lewa racing after him. Baku, in the meantime, blinked, looking at Onua in shock.

"What the… how… How are you able to carry me so easily?" The Toa of Earth grinned, though it was grim and small.

"I work out, I guess. Now just hold on tight and let me know if I'm hurting you. We'll make it through alright." Baku gave a slight nod, though his fear and alarm was still plain as day. Onua hated to admit it to himself, but he was panicking too. What if the Visorak caught them? Would they be killed, or dragged off to some nightmarish pit to suffer? Would something else happen? He was afraid to know the answer.

The ground shook suddenly, causing Onua to stagger. Nearly dropping Baku, the Toa of Earth found himself slowing down a little, struggling to maintain his balance. Hahli whimpered as she and Lewa ran past, her fear obvious. Onua took note of it instantly and grimaced. That wasn't the look of a mildly scared girl. It showed every ounce of the horror she'd seen while growing up in this 'post-apocalyptic' world that'd once been so beautiful. Just how much pain and suffering had she seen?

A sharp, stinging sensation rippling through his back snapped Onua from his thoughts, as well as caused him to stagger again. He knew he'd been hit, and now that he had, it was only a matter of time before he was down and out. Already he could feel the numbing begin to settle in, and it was starting to grow harder to stay upright.

"Baku, I got shot." His voice was quiet and starting to sound dazed. "I'm s-sorry…" Before the Le-Matoran even had a chance to respond, the Toa of Earth collapsed, managing to turn himself just enough so he wouldn't land on the wounded man he was carrying. Even with shifting, though, Onua hit the ground hard, his head smashing against the rocky surface and knocking him senseless. White and grey dots flashed through his blurring vision, and even with his glasses on, nothing was in focus. The echo of clicking started to seem far away, and as Onua succumbed to the numbness, everything went black.

^v^

"Sure is a bother Iruini isn't here. We'd have these two on their feet already. Honestly, where did he run off to anyway?"

"Hush, Pouks, you'll wake him up. They'll both need sleep, especially after what we pulled them out of."

"Oh yes, because being unconscious is such an energy draining experience." The sigh that followed indicated that the quieter voice was tired of the other person's tone. However, he seemed to notice that Onua was starting to come to, and commented.

"Ah, he's waking up. Go check on the other one; one of us will be enough of a shock to begin with, let alone both. Besides, something tells me that this one is… different somehow." As the other being could be heard shuffling off, Onua slowly tried opening his eyes. Once again his glasses were notably absent, and everything was severely blurry, perhaps even more so than usual, as well as everything seemed unnaturally dark. Giving a faint groan, he tried turning his head, though he stopped as a small jolt of pain shot through his neck.

"What happened… Last thing I remember…" He blinked slowly, trying to recall what happened. "Mata Nui… Where is Baku? Is he alright? Please tell me he's okay…" The figure beside the bed chuckled quietly, his tone betraying a smile.

"Yes, your Le-Matoran friend is alright. Most likely sore, but he'll be okay in time. You though… well, I'm a little more concerned about you." Onua raised an eyebrow slightly. He didn't like the sounds of that.

"Why? Did something happen to me? I didn't lose anything, did I?"

"Well… not exactly. Your hoodie has seen better days, but I don't think you lost anything incredibly important. How are you feeling right now?"

"Worried, tired…" Onua winced as he shifted slightly. "And really, really sore." The figure appeared to give an understanding nod.

"I felt the same way when this happened to me. Luckily you don't seem to have taken a severe turn for the worst, which is a major bonus. As far as I can see, the only issues you're going to have are opening doors, and looking at mirrors, though there's very little of either now, so you'll be just fine." By now Onua's mind was reeling. What did all of that mean? However, instead of blurting out dozens of questions like most people probably would have, the nineteen year old only asked one.

"Can I still wear my glasses?"

"Yes, you can. For now though, just rest. Your body has taken severe strain from what happened. As it is, I'm amazed your skin didn't rip apart, or at least split in a few places." Onua blinked again. That really sounded bad.

"Mind explaining why?"

"Well, to put it simply, your skeletal structure morphed, and that added a few new…features. Mainly your new hand claws and the occasional bone spike here and there. As far as I could tell though, you didn't get anything outlandish and freaky." Onua choked on his own breathing somehow when he heard that.

"You don't call bone spikes outlandish or freaky?" He coughed. "If that isn't weird, then what's your idea of it?" The figure laughed quietly at that.

"Well, you don't have any neon colored spots, stripes, or other peculiarities." The Toa of Earth hesitated to think that through before finally speaking again.

"No hot pink feathers?" Again the figure laughed.

"Not a one."

"Great. Guess I'm not so freaked up after all."


	22. Chapter 21: Keeping the Family

Mihkoro groaned quietly as he opened his eyes. Where was he again? Forcing himself to sit up, ignoring as the pounding in his head grew more intense, the dark Toa looked around. He was still in the Great Temple, still alive, and as far as he could see, utterly alone. Slowly the events of the siege returned to his memory, and his gaze soon fell to where Bakuma lay motionless and lifeless, his now vacant eyes holding a look of surprise, not to mention panic. A ways away from the mutant's body lay another, though from the angle he was at, Mihkoro couldn't tell who it was. Struggling to stand, relying on his glaive as though it were a walking stick to lean on, he moved closer to the unidentified figure, but even as he did so utter mortification and fear bubbled up in his heart.

"No, it can't be… Mata Nui, not her, please not her!" However, his pleading came too late. Hera was already gone. Tears began streaming down his face as Mihkoro dropped to his knees, his glaive clattering to the floor as he shakily pulled the Lightning Toa's limp and cold frame close to his chest. Of all the people that could have perished, why did it have to be her? As he knelt there in the darkness, his anguish began to boil into rage. Roodaka had gone too far now, and even if it killed him to do it, Mihkoro swore he would have his revenge. This was just too low of a blow to be left un-repaid. Shakily he stood, tears still rolling down his darkly tanned cheeks as he stared down into his wife's pale face, her expression frozen in shock and pain. Hands trembling the whole time, Mihkoro reached down, picking his glaive up in one hand and closing Hera's vacant eyes with the other. There was so much he had still wanted to do with her, to show her. Now all he had was…

"Where is my son?" Looking around in worry, the dark Toa began searching, desperate to find the only sane blood relative he had left. All he found was the boy's small, crimson ball cap, and the Kikanalo plush he'd had since the day he was born… well, what was left of it. It appeared as though it'd been severely shredded during the attack. This could mean only one thing.

"She… she took him… Th-that witch actually took him…" The temperature around Mihkoro began rising as his anger and hatred for Roodaka grew stronger, were it possible. Whisps of smoke and shadows rose from the dark Toa's fingertips as he glared at the body of one of the Visorak that'd been killed, and letting out a bellow of rage he set it alight, along with any other arachnid abominations that were nearby. Heart pounding and adrenaline shooting through his veins, Mihkoro stormed out of the room, heading for the doorway to get outside. He knew exactly where he was going no, and nothing was going to stop him. Roodaka was going to pay dearly for what she'd done, no matter what the cost was.

"I should've done this long ago…" He snarled under his breath. "I shouldn't have waited this long to do something about it…" As he went though, a curious thought came to him. Why did the Visorak let him live? They'd done away with Bakuma, Hera, and quite possibly Norik, so why leave him alive instead of kill him as well? Deciding that he could get that question answered soon enough, Mihkoro quickened his pace, walking through an archway and vanishing in the shadows beneath.

Where he re-appeared was on one of the Coliseum balconies, in the shadow of the very person he had come to find. For a split second, the dark Toa considered just cutting her down right there where she stood, but he stopped himself with the reminder that just up and killing people, no matter how evil, wasn't a Toa thing to do. Thus being the case, he resorted to crossing his tattoo-covered arms and clearing his throat loudly, catching the Vortixx's attention right away. Turning and putting one hand on her presently leather-clad hip, Mihkoro couldn't help but notice that her rather flattering outfit seemed much more battle-ready then the last outfit he'd seen her in, which had been a dress.

"Well well well, isn't this a lovely surprise." Roodaka purred, tracing her fingers along Mihkoro's jaw line. I knew you were still creeping around, but I never expected to have you crawl right into my hands." The dark Toa scowled as he jerked his head away from her and narrowed his eyes.

"What do you want, Roodaka?" He snapped coldly. "I didn't come to flirt with you or enjoy the view. You wouldn't have attacked the Great Temple if things weren't severe. Why did you kill the others but leave me alive? Just what are you playing at?"

"I want a new king. If I cannot bring my husband back, then I want to at least have someone I know I can count on. Sidorak is so pathetic… Besides, you have a son already, and he would be treated like royalty." Mihkoro's expression went from annoyed to enraged in a matter of seconds as he realized fully why Roodaka kept him alive. His hands clenched into fists as he uncrossed his arms, and when he spoke, his tone was dark and borderline murderous.

"I wouldn't let you within ten miles of Jaller." He hissed. "Stay away from my son unless you want to end up with your head on a pike." The Vortixx feigned a look of emotional hurt.

"So angry, even when I can give you so much power. I thought Teridax raised you with more intelligence than this. But, if this is what it comes down to… I have one more way to change your mind." Glancing at one of the Visorak that'd moved closer, she said lazily, as though she didn't have a care in the world.

"Bring me prisoner five." As it scuttled out of sight Mihkoro scowled, though nothing could hide the unease in his eyes.

"What are you up to?" The Vortixx only smirked. "Roodaka, answer me!" She merely giggled quietly as the Visorak returned, a small figure following it, and when Mihkoro saw who it was his face went white. "N-no…"

The figure was a Ta-Matoran child, no older than four, with dusty red, ear-length curls and bright, pinkish red eyes. His skin was slightly tanned in color, and his overall appearance was scruffy and unkempt. His red shirt was torn and stained with dirt, his dark grey jeans bearing massive holes in the knees. Even his dark brown shoes were well worn and on the verge of ripping. When the boy caught sight of Mihkoro, his slightly swollen eyes widened.

"D-Daddy?" Mihkoro started to feel nauseous. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't be real. Roodaka spoke again now, her tone holding sinister amusement.

"If you join me, he'll live and grow up to be a wonderful young man. If you don't…well, let's just say he'll be joining his mother. I know you saw what happened to her." Mihkoro's eyes widened as he looked at her.

"N-no, you wouldn't!" Roodaka gave a quiet and malicious giggle.

"Would I note? Come now Mihkoro, don't be silly. You've known me since you were little. Do you really think I wouldn't follow through with a simple threat like this?" The dark Toa shivered. When she put I that way, it all seemed too believable to even try to pass off as hot air. There wasn't really a choice for him to even make. Hanging his head, he sighed quietly, his ruby red eyes once more wandering to gaze at his son. This four year old boy was, not including Vakama, the last family member he had left, and he wasn't about to lose him. Not for anything in the world, even revenge for what happened to his teammate and wife. With this in mind, Mihkoro looked back at Roodaka.

"… Fine, you win. J-just don't hurt him. I'll do anything you want, just please don't hurt my son." A sinister looking smile crossed the woman's face.

"Anything? How intriguing…" She snapped her fingers, and before Mihkoro even had a chance to speak again, two webs shot out from behind, ensnaring his arms and pulling them behind his back. "Take him to the laboratory." The twenty-six year old blinked before trying to jerk free.

"Get off me!" He snarled, red eyes narrowed and expression one of hatred. Roodaka laughed coldly at his attempts to break loose, absently running her long fingers through Jaller's hair as she mused.

"Now now, Mihkoro, you know better than that. You have a bargain to uphold. You swore to give anything to keep your son alive. Don't tell me you're backing out on him. Just think about it; he's so innocent, so young. Only four years old, and you would take your life over his. I thought you were more honorable than that." The dark Toa grunted as he was jerked backwards, his eyes still glaring death and destruction at her.

"This wasn't part of our agreement, Roodaka! This is blackmail!" The Vortixx smirked at him as she followed the Visorak guards and her new prisoner, taking Jaller with her.

"I know, and it's oh-so-satisfying. Tell me, Mihkoro, what sort of Rahi do you see yourself as?" The twenty-six year old didn't answer, focussing solely on breaking free of the webbing that was holding him back. "No answer? Fine then. Your fate is now in your son's hands." She then looked at Jaller. "What sort of person would you say your father is, little one? How reliable is he?" The four year old looked up at her with a mixture of fear, anger and sadness in his eyes.

"He's strong enough to crush you, n-no matter what you do!" He replied, tears streaming down his face. "Daddy's stronger than anyone in the whole world! He could beat you, even if he was tied up!" The woman's smirk grew as she thought over Jaller's answer.

"Crushingly strong, even when he's tied up… And here I thought of him as treacherous and sneaky… I know exactly what I'll do to him now." A malicious gleam crossed her eyes as they entered a peculiar, laboratory-like room. "Tie him up. Let's see just how strong this little snake really is." Mihkoro gasped as he felt himself get pulled against the wall, forcing the air out of his lungs and leaving him open for attack. The two Visorak were on him in a heartbeat, wrapping the dark Toa in a cocoon before he'd even had a chance to recover his breath. He could hear his son crying, and though his voice was muffled by his new prison, the twenty-six year old shouted.

"Jaller don't watch this! P-Please just close your eyes! Don't open them for anything unless I tell you, okay?" Even through the web he could hear his son's quiet response.

"O-okay… D-daddy? A-are you gonna be okay?" Mihkoro almost said no, but caught himself and replied instead.

"Just fine, Jaller. Daddy's going to be okay. If I start shouting, don't open your eyes. Just pretend I'm singing in the shower really poorly." Roodaka laughed faintly at this, her voice right beside Mihkoro's cocoon.

"How cute. You're trying to spare his mind of watching you in pain." Mihkoro shifted as best he could, eyes narrowing as he responded to her.

"Just get this over with before I'm tempted to fight my way out of here and break you beyond recognition." All he got in reply was a sinister and low giggle before he felt something stab into his neck. Wincing, he involuntarily shivered as the syringe's unknown contents were forced into his bloodstream, quickly spreading through his frame. Coughing quietly, he took notice of how hard breathing seemed to grow, and not long after his whole frame began to shake, as though he were severely cold. It didn't take long for a stabbing pain to rip through his legs, forcing him to let out an agonized, semi-strangled sounding scream, jerking violently as the pain spread through his entire frame. The sound of ripping cloth echoed faintly in his ears as the pain intensified, the cocoon feeling more and more cramped with every passing second, until finally the webbing began to rip apart. Mihkoro let out another pain-filled yell as one last ripple of agony rushed through him. Jerking once more, the bottom of the cocoon broke open, dumping the freshly mutated Toa out onto the cold stone floor in a heap. Everything felt different now, to the point of just seeming wrong. Weakly, the dark Hordika opened his eyes, focussing first on his son, who was standing half-way across the room with his face hidden behind his hands. Shakily Mihkoro tried to stand, only to discover he no longer had legs. Instead his lower half was now long and snake-like, covered in glossy, red and black scales, the black being the base color and the red forming large, round-cornered diamonds along the top of his new appendage. This peculiar transformation also covered his whole torso, back included, with scales. Shifting his hands, he realized with great alarm that his fingernails were now more like claws, and even the small glance he gave them told him that they were incredibly sharp.

"M-Mata Nui…" He gasped out, looking himself over with shock and near-mortification. "What…what happened to me?" Panicking a bit, he looked over at Jaller. "Y-you can open your eyes now, Jaller. But… I'm a bit different now…" Slowly the Ta-Matoran uncovered his eyes, opening them and staring at his father in fear.

"D-Daddy?" Tears began streaming down his face as the four year old ran over to Mihkoro, cuddling up against his frame and crying onto his scale-covered shoulder. Shakily, the twenty-six year old wrapped an arm around his son as a light hug, careful to keep his claws away from the boy's skin.

"It's okay Jaller…Daddy's okay…"


	23. Chapter 22: The Book and the Broken

"Hey Gali, I've got a question."

"Yes Pohatu?"

"What are we going to do with this kid?"

The Toa of Water had to think on that for a while. What could they do? They'd lost track of Nuju and Iruini, stumbled across a corpse, and now had a very dazed four year old to worry about. Pohatu could tell she was having trouble, seemingly, because he grimaced and commented, though it was more of a question. "Maybe we should try finding something to eat? We don't know how long this kid's been down here, after all."

Gali nodded a little, thinking the situation through carefully before giving a response. "That's a good idea, Pohatu, but there's one small problem. We don't even know where the exit is, or if there even is one any more. The only way I know the woman over there didn't starve to death was because she didn't look like she'd suffered from prolonged lack of food and water. Her Brother grimaced at that theory, though when he replied he tried to sound optimistic.

"At least we know there was a way in and out, right? Isn't that something to be happy about? That, and at least this little guy is still alive. It'd be down right horrible if he was dead too." Gali gave a small nod.

"That's also true. However, we don't know how this boy got in here. That woman could've carried him in here through the same path that we entered by." She sighed, looking around the room in grim unease. "All the same, you do have a point… There's no harm in looking around, just in case there is another way out." Pohatu gave a small nod and started walking, holding the lantern high so they could see more of their surroundings. They appeared to be in a large, almost circular room, with broken bits of shelves scattered along the walls and countless books littered the floor. Smashed jars scattered the floor as well, their contents strewn here and there all over the room. Pohatu grimaced at the destruction, picking up one of the less damaged books and looking it over. The cover bore no name or title, nor did the spine, and the pages, or what could be seen of them, had very little signs of being old. Confused by this phenomenon, the Toa of Stone showed it to Gali, his perplexion obvious.

"Hey, what do you make of this? I mean, I'm no book expert, but shouldn't this have a title?"

The Toa of Water blinked slowly as she looked it over. "Yes." She said finally. "This isn't normal… The only books I can think of that wouldn't have a title are notebooks, diaries, or journals. But why would an unlabeled one be down here?" Pohatu shrugged, tucking the book into his satchel as he responded.

"Well, once we get out of here we can take a look and see what's in it." He would've said more, but the boy Gali was carrying murmured something, though it was more like unintelligible nonsense than actual words. Pohatu glanced at him with curiosity. "That was… interesting. No idea what he just said, but at least he talks." Gali gave a slight nod as she looked at the four year old in her arms. His eyes weren't open yet, but he was certainly more awake than a few moments ago.

"How are we going to explain to him that he's only got us to take care of him now?" The Toa of Water asked softly. "It'll hit him harder than you can kick a ball."

"Hey," Pohatu replied, shrugging a little as he looked around the room. "For all we know this kid might not even remember his parents. We don't really know what that capsule was meant for or what it even did. It could have done anything from brain washing to playing music." Gali was about to answer when a very faint breeze blew past them, briefly freshening the air for a few seconds before it faded away. Pohatu looked excited as he sped up, a small grin forming on his face. "Did you feel that?"

"Yes," she replied, smiling a little as she quickened her pace a little. "I certainly did. With any luck we'll be out of here in no time. Personally I'm starting to hope we find a functional shower or fountain nearby. All of this crawling around underground is starting to make me feel just filthy." Her fifteen year old Brother looked at her with amusement, though curiosity laced his expression.

"Are you really complaining about being dirty? At this point in time I'm just thankful for a potential way out of here. That, and the fact this Takua kid appears to be okay." However, that was when the faint sound of clicking echoed to them, sounding as though it were coming from somewhere in front of them. The two teenagers went pale as they looked around in panic. Finding a small side room that seemed to have a functioning door, Gali and Pohatu dashed inside, closing the door behind them and bolting it shut.

"Sheesh…" Pohatu whispered. "Those creepy crawlies are all over the place, aren't they? Where's the bug spray when you need it…" Gali didn't respond, her eyes wide as she stared up at the ceiling.

"P-Pohatu?" She breathed finally. "I-I think we have company…" Blinking, the Toa of Stone looked up, his face paling even more when he saw what 'company' was. Four Visorak, each a different color, were staring hungrily down at them, now clicking their pincers noisily as they started to close in and drop to the floor.

"G-Gali, lend me your hooks." She didn't respond, though judging by her expression it wouldn't have been a problem. Quickly setting the lantern down, the Toa of Stone confiscated his Sister's hooks from her belt and turned to face the four monstrosities that were heading his way. Two of the Visorak attacked at the same time, giving the fifteen year old very little time to react. Barely managing to avoid the attack, Pohatu hooked onto one of the Visorak's pincers, jerking it as hard as he could and managing to throw it into the other that'd charged. Even while this happened, the other two Rahi hurled spinners at the teen, both smashing into him and throwing him against the wall. Within seconds he was fully immobile, not to mention barely conscious. Gali shivered as she pressed herself against the wall, eyes wide as the pair of Visorak moved in on her. Holding Takua close and mentally praying for a miracle, the blue haired girl squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the end.

But it never came. Instead, the sound of something thick splatting on the floor and the scent of burned meat became shockingly noticeable. Opening her eyes, Gali was met with the sight of four half melted, half charred masses littering the floor, the molten half bright orange and glowing faintly. Too panicked now to do anything else, the Toa of Water slid down the wall, tears streaming down her face. Whimpering quietly, she looked around the room, trying to figure out just what'd happened to the Visorak, and her gaze eventually fell to the half-buried figure at the other side of the room. From what she could see, the man was mildly tanned, had popsicle orange hair, and pale purple eyes. He also appeared to be staring at her, his unblinking gaze studying her every feature. Not too far away from where he lay was a peculiar eye piece, very much like Kopaka's, save that it was very light orange and designed to cover the wearer's left eye instead of the right. Gali finally found her voice, and as she set Takua down, she asked quietly.

"Who are you?"

"Nobody of importance." He replied, his voice quiet "What matters is that you and your friends are okay. I don't have much longer in this world as it is. I've been trapped far too long to have much chance of surviving anywhere, even if I was free." Gali cautiously moved closer to him, avoiding the glowing goo that'd once been the Visorak. Shaking her head as she set about trying to unbury the man, the Toa of Water said softly.

"It's never too late, sir. I'll try to get you free." He looked her over again as the fourteen year old continued moving the rubble that pinned him down He appeared to be debating something about her, because as Gali worked, a thoughtful gleam crossed his eyes.

After several minutes, Gali had managed to unbury the man and pull him away from where he had been trapped. Once he'd been pulled far enough away, Gali started to form a large orb of water between her hands, concentrating as hard as she could and watching as it started to glow pale blue. The half crushed man just watched with amazement as the young Water Toa did this, and appeared to be surprised when she held her hands out towards him, the water spreading over his frame and lingering there like a large bubble, though his face was uncovered to allow breathing. Gali smiled weakly at the man on the floor as she leaned against the wall, sliding down it and into a sitting position. Now thoroughly exhausted, she smiled tiredly at the stranger, her orange eyes seeming to have lost some of their vibrant color and charm.

"See?" She whispered, her voice laced with fatigue. "I told you there was still hope… just rest now, it's the best thing you can do for the moment…" Yawning quietly, the blue haired girl smiled a little more. "I'll keep watch for now… I…" Whatever she was going to say would have to wait, however, because even before Gali could finish, her eyes had closed and she drifted off to sleep.


	24. Chapter 23: Feelings

"Don't stop running…" Lewa thought, hugging his little sister close as he stumbled out of a tunnel and into the hazy light of the fog-ridden city he had once called home. "Gotta keep going, for Hahli's sake!" Now was one of the few times in his life where he actually wanted Kopaka to keep him company. Split apart due to more Visorak showing up, the fourteen year old Toa of Air now only had his little sister with him, and though he was happy that she was alright, Lewa would've felt a lot better if he had someone else nearby to help him out.

"Big brother…" Hahli asked quietly, resting her small her small chin on his shoulder as she clung to him. "Are we gonna be okay?" The Toa blinked at her question. He wasn't fully sure how to answer that. On one hand he could say yes and they could end up captured, killed, or mutated. On the other, he could say he wasn't sure and leave his little sister feeling uneasy or nervous, but without a potential lie. Deciding quickly which would be the lesser of two evils, Lewa gave a small sigh and replied.

"I'm not sure-certain, to be honest. But I promise that I'll do everything I can to keep you safe. Does that sound okay-fine for now?" The silence that followed, broken only by the sound of Lewa's footsteps, indicated that Hahli was thinking over what her older brother had said. It took her a long time to come up with an answer, preceded by a quiet, though drawn out yawn.

"Yep… That's okay for now… Where were you before, brother? Why didn't I ever meet you before?" The Toa blinked a few times more as he once again considered her question. She probably wouldn't understand that he'd needed training, but what else could he call it?

Finally he came up with an idea and smiled a little. "I and my Toa-Hero friends went on an ever-long camping trip. We lost track of time for a while, but eventually figure-guessed how long it'd been and came back."

Hahli giggled at his explanation. "Sounds like it was really fun… Maybe when things are nicer, we could go camping together. All of us, even Mom and Dad." The thought of a family camping trip made Lewa grin. He could still vaguely recall his first camping trip. Sure, he couldn't remember all the details, but he could certainly remember a campfire, singing, and eating too many smores.

"Camping with everyone sounds like an ever-fun plan-idea, Hahli. We should totally do that sometime!" Lewa piped, slowing to a walk and smiling even more as his four year old sister giggled in his ear.

"Can you teach me how to make a… um…" Hahli paused, trying to remember what she was asking about. "… One of those chocolaty marshmallowy things?"

The Toa tilted his head a little before smiling and nodding. "A smore? Sure, I'll teach-show you as soon as we get a break-chance. Sound good?"

The four year old nodded, smiling a bit more. "Yep…" She burbled tiredly. "Sounds good…" There was a long pause before Hahli spoke again. "I'm really sleepy… Big brother, where are we going?"

Lewa grimaced at the question. Normally he'd be the one asking that. Thinking for a little while and making a quiet humming noise, the green haired boy finally replied. "We'll find somewhere to sleep-rest for a bit. We're both kind of tucker-tired from all the quick-running." Hahli just burbled quiet nonsense in reply as she drifted off to sleep. Lewa couldn't help but smile at this, though as he looked around he was beginning to wonder if there was anywhere safe enough to settle down for even just one or two hours.

Judging by the surrounding area, the tunnel exit had landed them in Po-Metru, just on the outskirts of the statue fields. There was considerably less fog here too, allowing very brief glimpses of the evening sky, still faintly glowing with the light of the setting sun. For a while, Lewa just stood there, staring at what parts of the sky he could actually see. With no way to really measure how long he'd been back on Metru Nui, the Toa Mata couldn't help but feel as though he hadn't seen the sky in ages. Briefly, he wondered if he should wake his sister up to point it out to her, though he decided against it when he paused to consider that the Ga-Matoran may not have gotten much sleep in the past while. This being the case, he just stood there for a few minutes in silence, a small smile on his face as he stared up at the patches of orange-kissed sky that sometimes peeked through the fog. It gave him an oddly calm feeling, as though the tears in the foggy shroud were glimmers of hope and a promise of better days ahead.

Eventually Lewa snapped back to attention, his small smile on his face still as he started to walk again, gaze scanning for somewhere he could tuck himself and his sister away for the night, and hoping beyond hope that he could find somewhere on ground floor, or at least close to it. The last thing he wanted was to be found by the Visorak on or in some high up structure. Sure, he still had his mask ability, and Hahli was quite light weighted, but all the same it was one of those times where he felt it would be safer for them to be on the ground, a feeling that seldom came to him. As he thought about it, Lewa smiled a bit more as he remembered something Lhikan had told him while they had been away.

^v^

Falling flat on his face seemed to be a natural occurrence by now, and try as he might Lewa still couldn't get the hang of manoeuvring through the makeshift obstacle course Lhikan had put together. Of course, not being allowed to use his wings only made it worse. Groaning as he got up for the umpteenth time and spitting out a few rocks, the young Toa of Air plodded over to Toa Lhikan, his expression downcast. "Toa-Hero Lhikan… I can't do this."

The Toa Mangai blinked a few times at the boy's words. "What do you mean, Lewa? Of course you can do it."

"No, I can't." Lewa persisted. "My head speak-tells me to do one thing, but my gut-thought says to do something else, and I just end up getting bad-hurt."

"Hmm…" Lhikan mumbled, thinking over what he'd just been told. "Which do you normally follow, Lewa? Your head, or the other feeling?"

"My head." The boy replied, his expression a confused one. "My gut is only supposed to speak-talk when I'm hungry, isn't it?"

The Toa of Fire started to laugh quietly as he smiled, gently resting a hand on the younger Toa's shoulder. "You're thinking about your stomach, little one. Having a gut feeling is different. It's like a hunch or instinctive thought, actually. Does that make sense?"

"Uhm…" Lewa had to think over what he'd just been told. He'd never really heard of a feeling in his gut other than hunger. All the same though, it did make a bit of sense. He remembered how often his older brothers, Baku in particular, would claim he 'had a bad feeling' about different things, mostly when it was something that could get he and his siblings in trouble. Now that someone had actually explained it to him, the concept seemed much easier to grasp. Finally a small grin crossed the boy's face as he nodded and replied. "Yep. But I've got a bad feeling now…"

"You do?" Lhikan asked with notable concern.

"Yeah… It says I'm hungry."

^v^

As he recalled this memory, Lewa's smile became a grin. "Those were good days…" That was when he heard a faint growl somewhere behind him, and the fourteen year old knew from personal experience that creatures that made unhappy noises were very bad news. Forcing himself not to shriek like an upset baby due to the surprise of being found, the green haired youth bolted, holding onto Hahli tightly as he went. Praying that his new problem wasn't hungry, the boy started looking around frantically for somewhere to hide, or at least escape the evil beast that was now trying to chase him down.

"Please give up… Please give up…" The teen puffed under his breath, his yellow-green eyes wide as he scanned the surroundings. Again the creature growled, now sounding much closer. Lewa sped up, his face paling notably as he began muttering something else. "Please don't eat me, please don't eat me!"

Up ahead he now saw a partially finished statue that seemed to be a promising location to be on top of. His eyes began to glow brightly as Lewa activated his mask power and lifted off the ground, heading towards the monument and only turning to look back at the beast that'd intended on making a snack out of him and his little sister once his feet were planted firmly on the rocky surface.

The creature, not standing at the base of the unfinished statue, appeared to be covered in a thick, dusty tan hide, and judging by the hunch in its back it had a shell of some sort. From Lewa's angle, it looked like the Rahi had messy brown hair, though it was covered by… a cowboy hat? The Toa of Air did a double-take at that, his gaze now noticing the blue bandanna around its neck, the black, fingerless gloves on its hands, and the fact that it was also wearing what looked to be dark brown shorts and dusty tan boots.

That was when the creature spoke, crossing his arms as he stared up at Lewa with a look of amusement and surprise on his sharply featured face, and a gleam of almost mocking laughter in his dusty blue eyes. "Geez, I thought you would've been bigger than that by now! It's been six years since I saw you last and you're still a toothpick!"

Lewa blinked, eyes widening in shock. He recognized that voice! Hardly able to believe just who he was looking at, the Toa of Air just stared at the being in surprise for several moments until finding his voice once more.

"Onewa?"


	25. Chapter 24: Good Enough ToaHero

The brown haired Hordika laughed quietly as he adjusted his cowboy hat. "Yeah, it's me alright. I'm still as sane and solid as ever. Come down here and let me get a look at you."

A faint grin crossed Lewa's face as he nodded, eyes glowing brightly as he floated down and landed in front of Onewa, Hahli still cradled in his arms. "You look-seem shorter than before." The Toa of air commented with a quiet laugh.

Onewa smirked at the comment and replied. "I'd say you looked smarter, but that wouldn't be true. It's good to see that you're back though, so something obviously improved."

Lewa just laughed the playful insult off, and piped up. "Let's just speak-say I'm fortune-lucky. But that doesn't explain-say what you're doing out here. Is there anyone else with you?"

The twenty-two year old shook his head, sighing quietly as he glanced around. "It's just you, me, and the girl as far as I'm aware. But hey, that's probably a good thing. Means there's not as much of a chance that the Visorak will show up to cause problems for us. Even better, we probably won't run into Vakama any time soon. Complete nutter now that Roodaka cooked his head."

Lewa blinked, looking highly alarmed. "She did what? I know he's mask-cracked, but what'd she do to make him go like that?" Onewa grimaced, just shaking his head. Clearly 'Roodaka cooked his head' with something really bad. "Toa-hero Onewa? What'd she do to him?"

The mutant shuddered a bit. "We're not fully sure just what she did to be honest, other than it had to do with water, since he was dripping wet when he came back out of the Coliseum with two of those infernal Visorak flanking him. If you ask me, I think she dunked him in boiling water over and over until he snapped. Not a pleasant theory, but it's the best one I could come up with."

The green haired fourteen year old cringed. He hadn't really asked for Onewa's personal theory, though now that he thought on it he probably didn't even have to ask for it in the first place. From what he could remember, Onewa always threw in his opinion whether it was wanted or not. Deciding it was a good idea to change the conversation now, Lewa asked. "So why are you here anyway? Isn't it dark-lucky to be out on your own?"

Onewa shook his head. "Not yet, it isn't. Besides, it's less people to keep track of. And I'm out here to try and track down some clues about the location of a mythical Rahi that can supposedly reverse the effects of Hordika venom. Personally, I'm not sure if I even believe it exists, but if it'll make Matau stop belly-aching about being a monster, then it's worth looking into."

"Mythical Rahi-beast?" Lewa inquired. "What's it name-called? Do you know what it looks like?"

The Hordika shook his head again. "Not sure what it looks like, but apparently it's called Keetongu. I just wish I had more than that to work with. Mihkoro was going to update me on anything new that might turn up, but I haven't heard anything for a long while. I'm starting to wonder if he's even alive anymore."

The fourteen year old Toa of Air didn't like the sounds of that at all. If Mihkoro died, who else was gone too? Were his parents even alive still? Were his missing siblings okay? What would he do if they were dead? Shifting a bit, the green haired youth held Hahli a little closer to himself and asked quietly. "Where did everyone go, Onewa? All the Matoran-people… they aren't dead-gone, are they?"

Onewa fixed him with a blank stare, as though not fully believing that Lewa had just asked that. "If they were dead, we'd have given up on rescuing them. They're all trapped in stasis right now, and where we can't get at them."

"Oh?" Lewa asked hopefully. "Where?"

Onewa rolled his eyes. "The Coliseum. Where else would an egotistical maniac and a conspiring old hag rule the island from? Did you learn anything while you were away?"

Lewa was starting to get a bit fed up with the mutant's constant hacking at his intelligence, and commented with a quiet sigh. "Just because I think-figure things differently doesn't mean I can't think-figure at all…" Onewa didn't seem as though he was paying attention any more, his gaze scanning around them as though looking for danger. Lewa sighed, shaking his head and looking up at the sky… eyes widening when he saw four white Visorak hanging on the webs above them. How had he not noticed the webs linking the statues together before, he didn't really know, unless they were just put there while Lewa and Onewa had been talking. "Onewa…" He said quietly. "We've got a dark-lucky issue-problem… They found us."

Onewa blinked and glanced over at the boy before looking up, eyes widening a little. "This… isn't good."

Lewa cast him a brief look before starting to run, deciding to say what he thought Tahu might say in this sort of situation. "Are you just going to stay-stand there, or are you going to quick-run?" That shook Onewa back into his senses, and he took off running after Lewa, growling lowly as he glanced at the Rahi above them. Predictably, the Visorak had given chase, clicking and screeching noisily as they went.

"A plan would be good right around now, Lewa!" The Hordika commented with annoyance.

"I'm think-working on it, just give me a moment!" Lewa replied, trying to get together an idea or plan as quickly as he could.

Onewa didn't seem thrilled with the thought of waiting. "We don't have a moment!"

Out of desperation to make Onewa stop shouting at him, Lewa pointed at a random statue to their right. "Bring that down!" Onewa, though perplexed, looked at the stone colossus and snapped his fingers. The entire of the statue's base exploded, bringing the massive structure crashing down behind them. Hahli shrieked with alarm as she woke, clinging to her brother tightly as she looked around. Lewa glanced over his shoulder, jaw dropping as he watched statue after statue collapse like dominoes falling over. Dust filled the air as no less than five monuments came crashing down, obliterating everything they fell on. By the time the dust and sand had settled out again, there appeared to be nothing left of the Visorak that'd been pursuing them only moments ago. No longer running, Onewa and Lewa just stared at the destruction for several eerily silent moments, neither one sure quite what to say. Finally, Onewa found his voice.

"Wow. Okay, you're definitely brighter than I thought. How did you know to do that?"

"I didn't." Lewa replied quietly, just blinking as he looked over the mess they'd just made. "I just wanted you to break-smash something as a distraction."

Hahli spoke up now, her voice quiet as well. "That was scary, Big Brother…"

"Scary," Onewa agreed. "but very well played. You aren't half bad, Lewa."

The fourteen year old beamed at the Stone Hordika, glad that he was finally being praised instead of berated. "I told you I could think-figure things, Toa-hero Onewa. I'm just different." That was when the ground began to shake, nearly knocking Lewa off balance. "Bio-quake?" He asked with unease, glancing at Onewa.

"Worse…" The Hordika replied, his expression betraying his worry. "We need to get off the ground. Hurry!" Onewa began to run, Lewa activating his mask and flying after him with Hahli still clutched tight to his chest. The shaking seemed to be growing worse with every passing moment, and it wasn't long until Onewa was staggering while he tried to reach safety.

That was when the ground split open, a huge snake-like creature pushing its scaly head out of the sand and looking around for something or someone to eat… and right ahead of it was Onewa. Hissing loudly as it launched forwards, the twenty-two year old Hordika had no time to react as the beast came down on him. Onewa's eyes bulged slightly as the reptilian monstrosity tightened its coils around his frame, threatening to crush all the life out of him. He struggled to get free, trying to get an arm loose so he could try and push the serpent off, but it was no use; if he wasn't helped, he was going to die.

Lewa looked around quickly, setting Hahli down on a broken statue before drawing his axe and diving at the snake-like creature, hacking at its body, aiming to distract it long enough for Onewa to get free. His plan was starting to work, the Rahi turning its massive head and focussing on the fourteen year old who'd so boldly attacked it. The great beast's head lurched towards him, mouth open wide and fangs dripping with venom as it tried to bite Lewa. The Toa of Air flew backwards, narrowly avoiding the attack as he swung his axe, hitting one of the giant snake's fangs and breaking the lower third of it off. Hissing in rage and pain, the snake pulled back, tail tip lashing violently as it writhed.

While the Rahi thrashed, Onewa managed to pull free and stumble back out of the Rahi's reach, coughing and gasping the whole time. Eyes watering and footfalls uneven, the Hordika only looked back once he was near the statue Hahli was on. The sight that met his gaze made him gasp. The massive Rahi was now retreating, smashing Lewa with its tail on the way back down its tunnel, flinging the Toa of Air several feet higher and at least fifteen feet away, where he hit the ground, rolled several times, and finally lay still a few feet away from where Onewa and Hahli were. Onewa hurried over as fast as his recuperating body would allow, kneeling beside Lewa's motionless frame and carefully rolling him on his back.

"Kid?" The Hordika asked worriedly, taking note of the fourteen year old's shallow breathing. "Lewa, can you hear me?"

At first, there was no response, but after a little while the green haired youth gave a slight nod and mumbled. "Mhm… loud n' clear-good… did we win?"

Onewa just laughed faintly at the question. "I didn't. You certainly did though. Do you know what you just chased off?" Lewa shook his head a little, but didn't speak. The Hordika smirked slightly. "You just chased off a Giga Tunneler, one of the most dangerous reptilian Rahi on this island. That was pretty darned heroic… well, and psychotic. That thing could've easily killed both of us if you hadn't been so quick to act."

Lewa gave a dazed grin at that news. "Ever-nice to know I did something epic-cool…" He paused before adding. "So… am I a good enough Toa-hero for you?"

"Oh yes." The Hordika replied with a grin. "Definitely good enough."


	26. Chapter 25: New Changes

"So, what's your name anyway?"

Onua winced as he sat up and squinted around the very dim room. "Onua. What's yours?"

The figure smiled as he held out Onua's glasses. "My name is Bomonga. Now then, what I want to know is how you fought the Visorak off in the condition you're in presently. You were an awful mess when Pouks and I found you."

The new mutant blinked slowly as he put his glasses on and looked around again. "I didn't. He replied as he studied Bomonga's features better now that he could see clearly. He was surprised to see that Bomonga was shorter than him by around half a foot, leaving him at approximately five feet. Another feature that Onua noticed right away was Bomonga's thick and rough looking grey hide. He also had clawed hands and feet, pale green eyes, and long, smokey grey hair that he kept back with an old, forest green ribbon. The small, yet very muscular being wore not but a slightly torn, black muscle shirt and a pair of ragged, black jean shorts that'd probably been full length pants at some point in history.

Bomonga raised an eyebrow at Onua's reply. "If you didn't though, who or what did?"

"Not a clue." The new Hordika confessed, shrugging slightly as he tried to recall how it all unfolded. He remembered being hit in the back and collapsing, but everything went black at that point, and then he was here. "All I know was that I got shot and fell over…" He moved to run a hand through his now loose and atrociously messy hair, only to freeze and stare at the long, claw-like bones that now protruded from his knuckles, each nearly ten inches long, if not longer. His skin was now pebbly in appearance, and seemed to be covered with smooth, miniscule scales the color of thick dust on a black surface. At first, all he could do was stare in shock and mild horror as his new features became fully believable to him now.

Though all words had escaped him for a while, he finally re-discovered his voice and asked. "What… what is this?" He sounded worried, if not a bit scared about his new form.

Bomonga hesitated before giving a response, expression grim and eyes showing sympathy. "It's you, Onua. Rather, what you've become. You're a Hordika now, and judging by the muttering you did in your sleep, your Rahi side is a lot more personable than what we've seen so far. Why, it almost seemed as though it were having a conversation with you." The Rahaga gave a small laugh. "That or you just talk in your sleep with very strange speech patterns."

The Earth Hordika just blinked slowly before shaking his head. "Let's just focus on what sort of weirdness I'm working with now." As he said this, he indicated his new hand claws. "I'd rather know what I'm fighting with instead of fight against something potentially peaceful."

Bomonga nodded slightly. "True enough. Just be careful while you're getting up. Don't need you getting dizzy and hurting yourself." Onua gave a faint nod of his own, gingerly swinging his now clawed and shoeless feet off the bed and letting them rest on the cold stone floor. Shivers rippled up and down his spine as the new Hordika stared at his far-from-normal feet for several long, drawn out seeming seconds, during which he tried to figure out just how much trouble he'd gotten himself into.

It was then that he became aware of the long scaly thing beside him on the bed, colored the same way that his own skin was. "No way…" He mumbled with unease, gingerly trailing his fingers along the mass, only to discover that the tail was, in fact, his own. "This can't be real, can it?" Onua asked worriedly. "This is all just a really weird dream… right?"

"Hah, you wish." A different voice said from the next room over, his tone seeming to show that blunt and straight forward were two traits he'd always had.

Bomonga shook his head and sighed, though whether it was to say no or simply show his lack of approval for his partner's comment couldn't be deciphered. "Like Pouks so harshly suggested, this is all quite real. But there is still hope. There is a way to change you back to normal. Pouks and I were actually on our way to find the Toa Metru that are still sane, and give them the news that Kualas relayed to us. Though, I think he may have tracked down Nuju already. It's hard to tell with him sometimes. In any case, we should get moving as soon as your Le-Matoran friend is awake. Staying here for too long could be very dangerous, especially if your inner Hordika is an impatient one."

Onua hesitated on that, trying to figure out what that meant. "Inner Hordika?" He asked.

"He means you're an animal!" Pouks' voice came again, showing no signs of caring how rude that sounded.

"Pouks must you be so harsh?" Bomonga questioned, his voice showing exasperation incredibly well. He then looked at Onua and explained. "When you were mutated, a more primal part of you was woken up; a second personality, as it were. Sometimes that personality is just content to ride it out and see what happens. Most often though, it fights for mental dominance. For some it's easy to fight off, for others… well, you've seen Vakama. If he stays like that for too long, the monster you met will consume the Toa hidden behind it."

Onua didn't like the sound of that at all. "And… how do we know if it's been too long?" The answer he got wasn't a good one.

"We don't. For Vakama, it might already be too late. Right now, the only definite thing is that we need to get to the Great Temple. The key to locating Keetongu is in there somewhere, and he is the only hope you have left if you want to be a Toa again."

The Earth Hordika gave a small nod, though he had a lot more questions he wanted to ask. However, he only asked one. "Why is Pouks so…" He hesitated, trying to come up with an answer that wasn't rude. "So forward with his words?"

Bomonga gave a small smile at Onua's tactfulness. "Pouks has always been noisy and blunt." He replied with the faintest of chuckles. "For him to be anything else would just be abnormal. You grow used to it eventually, though I'll admit he does get to be a bit grating after a while."

"I'm sure." Onua replied with a small nod. He then thought for a moment before speaking again. "Do you know where my other friends went?"

Once again, Pouks' commentary showed up. "You mean there's more of you hopeless cases running around? Dang, here I was hoping you and the chute-speaker were the only ones."

Bomonga chose to ignore Pouks this time. "I'm not sure where they are, to be honest." He replied. "But I sincerely hope they're alright. This island isn't what it used to be."

"No kidding…" Onua replied quietly, sighing as he remembered back to his days as a Matoran living on the streets of Onu-Metru. "A person could actually survive on their own, even if they were homeless."

The Rahaga merely nodded, though going by his expression, his thoughts were elsewhere. That was when Pouks spoke up. "Hey, the airhead is awake. Can we move out now?"

Hearing that Baku was awake seemed to boost Onua's mood, and as he carefully stood up, he asked. "How badly was he hurt?"

"He's dazed, but he'll be fine eventually. "Pouks responded, as though being injured wasn't a big deal. "He's a Le-Matoran; he's as much of a crash test dummy as your former Air Toa was."

A dull cough came from the wounded Matoran, followed by a quiet mumble. "Actually, I'm an architect…"

Pouks ignored the comment as he poked his head into view, revealing his thick, darkly tanned, hide-like skin, light orange eyes, and short, dusty blonde hair. He also appeared to be very short. So, whenever we leave, we'd better make it soon, alright? All this waiting is starting to really get on my nerves."

Onua blinked slowly as he looked over at Pouks, having expected someone a lot taller going by how deep his voice was. However, he said nothing of it, deciding he'd get used to walking around with his new form instead of argue or cause a fuss about Pouks' manners, or lack thereof. Instead, he asked. "How can Baku be alright if his leg is damaged? Will he be able to walk?"

"Dunno." Pouks replied with a small shrug. "Better hope he can though; I'm not carrying him."

Onua sighed quietly, but nodded before looking down at himself, deciding right away that he was going to need all the help he could get with figuring out his new form. What disturbed him, however, was the little voice in the back of his mind that agreed.


	27. Chapter 26: Break Away

"Don't forget what happens to traitors, Vakama. You are too valuable to kill."

It was this stern warning that echoed in the Fire Hordika's mind as he absently wandered the web-strewn halls of the Coliseum, his eyes a yellowy-green color – betraying the conflict between his sanity and his inner Hordika - , and his expression grim. The muffled screaming he'd heard a while back was worrying him greatly, making him wonder which of his former comrades the victim was. Top make matters more unsettling to him, half of him wanted to investigate, and the other half was adamant about staying as far from the cell block as possible.

"Go on, Vakama," one voice urged him. "one of your friends is hurt; they need you."

"Lady Roodaka will kill you if you do." The other argued. "don't be stupid!"

"What if it was Nokama?"

"Who cares? Your life is worth more than hers."

"Go!"

"Don't do it!"

Vakama moaned quietly as he closed his eyes and let the two voices bicker for a while. So far, both had given good arguments, or at least a good enough argument to keep the Hordika wandering aimlessly. Eventually, he opened his eyes again and continued to meander down the hall, half paying attention to where he was going, and half distracted by the constant argument that echoed over and over in his skull. After a little while, however, he realized where in the Coliseum he was; the corridor leading to the holding cells.

Once again, his sanity spoke out. "Take a look, see who got hurt."

"No." Argued his feral side. "Mistress Roodaka would kill you if you defected again."

"Just take a look," his sanity pleaded. "they might really need someone to talk to. Maybe you could help them."

"forget it!" The Hordika part snarled. "You're worth more than all of them combined!"

Vakama gripped his head with his hands, trying to quiet his two personalities down. One seemed to back off after a little while. However, the other just seemed to shout even louder, and within a mater of moments, Vakama caved in, taking off down the hall at a run, his mind desperately trying to figure out who had been dragged in.

His frantic search lead him to find Mihkoro, presently coiled up in a corner of his cell with Jaller huddled up beside him, seeming scared. When Mihkoro first saw Vakama there, a menacing hiss-like noise escaped his lips, though he quieted himself when he saw that Vakama's eyes weren't reflecting his feral side. "Vakama?" He asked quietly, his expression somewhat hopeful. "Are you… reasonable right now? Or are you just here to laugh?"

Vakama shook his head as he took hold of the cell's bars. "I'm not here to laugh." He replied grimly, highly concerned about the fact that his brother was now a Hordika. "Are you okay, other than the obvious?"

"I'm far from it." Mihkoro replied with a frown. "My son's a captive, my wife and team are dead, and I'm a monstrosity who can't even tell my son that everything is going to be okay without probably becoming a liar." He then sighed, carefully brushing some of his hair out of his face. "What about you? How's your sanity holding out?"

Vakama cringed slightly at his brother's response, knowing that the Great Temple had only been attacked because of information that he himself had given to Roodaka, albeit unwillingly. Shaking his focus away from this, he replied, his tone grim, yet holding traces of faint hope. "I think it's getting stronger. I've been having an easier time finding myself, and I think it'll only get easier from now on."

Mihkoro thought this information over carefully, and something in his eyes seemed to say that he was about to ask Vakama to do something potentially dangerous. "If that's the case," he replied finally. "I need you to do me a favour. A really big one."

Vakama grimaced, seeming uneasy now as he shifted his weight uncomfortably and responded. "Is this potentially going to kill me?"

Going by the grim, faintly amused half-smile that Mihkoro gave him, death was a definite risk. "Isn't dying just an occupational hazard now?" The snake Hordika asked rhetorically. He then shook his head. "I need you to take Jaller and get out of here. Go into hiding, find the other Toa Metru… just do whatever it takes to keep my son safe."

Vakama blinked once. "You'd be coming too, wouldn't you?" He asked, dreading the answer.

"No." Mihkoro replied, seeming saddened by his own response. "I told Roodaka that I would give my freedom up for Jaller's life. So far she hasn't hurt him, but I don't trust her at all. Please Vakama; get him out of here."

Jaller looked up at his mutated father with alarm. "But Dad, what about you? You can't stay, you just can't!"

Mihkoro carefully and gently hugged his son. "Shh… it'll be okay, Jaller. Your uncle will take good care of you, and I'll find my own way out in time." He then looked at Vakama, his gaze showing traces of desperation. "Please, Vakama, get him out before Roodaka does something to him."

The red Hordika grimaced as he listened, though without really giving himself time to think about it, he nodded, starting to unlock the cell door. "I'll do what I can, Mihkoro. Just… be careful, okay?"

The Dark Hordika gave a half-hearted chuckle. "I'll see what can be done, Vakama. There's not a great deal that I can pull off, but at least Jaller will be safer with you than he will in here."

Vakama gave a small nod as he finished unlocking the cell door and pushed it open. Quickly crossing the distance between the doorway and his brother, Vakama crouched down so he was at eye level with the last two members of his family, his gaze showing his unease and fear in regard to what he was about to do. Jaller held onto his father nervously at first, though after a little while he let go and allowed Vakama to pick him up. After giving a small grim nod to Mihkoro, the red Hordika stood up, shifting so Jaller was on his back before leaving the cell, locking it, and hurrying down the hallway, his senses all on high alert for any indication that something or someone was moving in on them.

They were around halfway to the nearest exit when the sound of screeching Visorak echoed from behind them, a sure-fire indication that Vakama's treachery had been discovered. T he Hordika sped up as Jaller held on tighter, and it wasn't hard to tell that the boy was terrified. Vakama grimaced, a faint and low growl rumbling in his throat as his Hordika side began to try and take over.

"You'll need my help if you want to get out of this alive." His feral side said in his mind.

"I need to get out of this with more than my own life." His sanity snarled. "So back off."

"Is the pup really worth that much to you?" Ferality questioned, sounding faintly amused. "He's so small, so utterly hopeless unless someone is constantly watching him. He'd be good bait."

That ticked Vakama off, and his sanity hissed venomously. "Would you give him up so willingly if he was your own son? Or would you try to protect him with everything you had?"

Going by the fact that his Hordika side didn't retort, Vakama decided that the conversation was over, and as such re-focussed on the task at hand, speeding up even more as he went around a corner, narrowly managing to dodge as several spinners hurtled past, cracking loudly when they hit the wall. 'That was far too close.' Vakama thought grimly. 'I just hope we can get away before all our luck runs out!'

That was when his Hordika side showed up again, smashing its way into control before Vakama even had a chance to fight back. "Hold on tighter, kid!" He ordered, speeding up even more as Jaller's hold turned into a deathly tight grip. Satisfied with this, the now feral Hordika veered off the course that Vakama had originally been taking, now heading straight for a window. "Hide your face!" Without slowing at all, Vakama felt his nephew bury his face as best he could, just in time for the Hordika to jump at the window, utterly shattering it and landing on several thick webs that'd been woven together like a large, taught-pulled cable. Balancing just right, the Hordika slid down it almost as though he were using his feet to rail grind, only jumping to the next web string when he heard the whirring of an oncoming Rhotuka. Using his new landing spot like a trampoline, the Hordika vaulted to a more loose strand, grabbing onto it and slashing it apart so he could swing down lower, repeating this until he reached the Coliseum wall.

Several Visorak were moving in to greet him already, all charging at once. However, by the time they'd even reached where he'd been, the Hordika had already leapt off the wall, landing on the other side and hurtling off out of sight. Vakama and Jaller had escaped.


	28. Chapter 27: Bad Company, Good Friend

Gali awoke to a cold and damp cloth being pressed against her forehead, though she made no move to open her eyes. Instead, she just enjoyed the cold wetness of the cloth. "She'll be okay, right?" She heard Pohatu ask with concern. "She's been out of it for hours now."

"She'll be alright, young Toa." A strong and reassuring male voice replied. "She exhausted herself, but she'll be fine when she regains her full strength. But how's the boy?"

Pohatu sighed, his voice none too cheerful as he responded. "He's… managing. He still has no memories as far as I could figure out. Poor kid barely knows his own name."

"Hm… at least he's actually awake. Some Matoran who are freed by their pods breaking don't wake up at all. I've found too many broken pods with dead Matoran for my liking."

Gali opened her eyes now, suddenly worried that some of her family may have been found dead. "Do you know who any of them were?" She asked quietly.

The man sitting beside her turned his gaze when she spoke, his purple eyes showing relief that she had woken up. "I wrote down the name on every dead Matoran's pod that I found." He looked her over briefly before continuing. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm tired." She replied. "But I'm okay otherwise. What about you? Everything healthy again?"

The man nodded as he gave a faint smile. "Yes, I am much better now, thanks to you. But now I have a question; what in Mata Nui's name were you in the Archives for? Your friend didn't really give me much of a straight answer when I asked him earlier."

Gali had to pause and consider the question a moment. How did things go again? Recollection hit her rather quickly, and she shivered as she remembered what happened at the Temple. "The Great Temple was attacked, so someone opened a portal and sent us here." She then realized they weren't in the Archives any more. "… Where are we?"

"We're in what's left of Ta-Metru presently." The man replied. "You've been unconscious for quite some time now. Pohatu was quite worried."

The Toa of Water gave a small nod as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. "He does tend to worry about people quite a bit… is Takua really doing that poorly?"

Pohatu nodded as he poked his head into view. "Yeah, but he's pretty good otherwise. Aside from his confusion, he's really amusing."

Gali smiled faintly. "At least he has personality." She then blinked, remembering that she had no idea who the orange-haired man was. Looking up at him again, she smiled awkwardly and asked. "Ehm, what was your name? You never told me earlier."

The man chuckled faintly at her question. "I didn't tell you because I thought I was as good as dead. In any case, my name is Saraco, Toa of Plasma. I'm not sure if you know him, but I am on the same team that Mihkoro is." He frowned slightly now. "I just hope he hasn't gotten himself killed yet. He has a way with making people angry, as well as getting himself into trouble."

Gali blinked several times. "You know Mihkoro? He's the one who sent Pohatu, Iruini, and I to the Archives. I just hope everyone else is alright…"

Saraco gave a small nod before looking towards the doorway, expression thoughtful as he murmured vaguely. "I wonder if Takua even remembers… hm…" He then shook his head and looked at Gali. "If you remember anything else from the attack that might help us, let me know."

The girl nodded before pausing, thinking a moment, and then asking. "What is Keetongu? Rahaga Norik didn't get time to fully explain."

The Plasma Toa blinked before smiling a little. "To be honest with you, I don't know a great deal about him. Legends say he's a powerful Rahi that can reverse the effects of Hordika venom. The whole reason I was in the Archives was to try and learn more, possibly even find out where Keetongu was hiding."

Gali thought this over a bit before blinking. "So that odd book that Pohatu and I found was your notebook?"

Saraco nodded. "That's correct. To be honest, I'm quite thankful that you found it; the information I have written in there could be crucial for getting this mess resolved." He paused before glancing around again. "… We need to move out; the Visorak are probably still searching for us. I think they know what we've been up to."

That was when Pohatu hurried into the room, carrying Takua and looking uneasy. "Hey, we've got company of the 'kill you all' variety. Is there a back door we can use to get out?"

The Plasma Toa shook his head as he looked over, his expression holding sudden gravity and seriousness. "Not any that are presently accessible. See if you two can find somewhere you can hide with Takua. I'll try to keep the Visorak at a distance for as long as I can. If you can find a way out, leave."

Gali frowned a bit as she stood up. "What about you?" She asked, her eyes showing uncertainty.

Saraco shook his head at her question, moving towards the doorway and readying himself for battle. "What happens to me is not yours to worry about. Only Destiny knows what will come to pass." With that said, the Toa of Plasma left the room.

Pohatu, on the other hand, was already trying to find another way out, Takua just blinking slowly, clearly trying to figure out what was going on around him. Gali hurried over and took the boy from Pohatu, looking around the room with uncertainty before gasping quietly and looking at her Brother again. He gave a sheepish smile as he indicated the now collapsed segment of wall. "Sorry," he said awkwardly. "Saraco didn't say we couldn't make a way out, so I thought it wouldn't be a huge issue if we did."

Gali couldn't help but give a weak smile as she looked his expression over. "You never could help yourself when it came to destruction."

The fifteen year old grinned. "Well yeah; what's more fun than breaking something when you're actually allowed to?" He then rushed through the hole, Gali hurrying after him.

"You and Onua need to compete sometime to see who's more destructive." Gali teased quietly. "Though we probably have to send the pair of you somewhere that you couldn't hurt anyone."

"Hey, that thing with Kopaka was an accident." Pohatu said awkwardly. "I didn't know that part of the cliff was unstable. Besides, he shouldn't have been standing there. That and he was okay. Just really wet."

"People tend to get wet when they fall off cliffs and into oceans." Gali reminded him. "We're just lucky Kopaka hit the water and not a rock. He wouldn't have been okay if that were the case." She glanced behind them to see if they were being followed, and to see if Saraco would be okay. When she didn't see any sign of anything or anyone, she looked ahead of them again. "Do you think Saraco will be alright?"

Pohatu grimaced at the question. "Let's just assume he will and leave it at that for now, okay? He probably knows what he's doing." He flinched when he heard a pain-filled yell ring out from behind them. "… or maybe we need to speed up a bit."

Takua shivered a little. "What's going on?" He murmured, sounding frightened.

Gali looked briefly at the boy in her arms before looking ahead of them again. "We're trying to find something safer." She told him quietly. "We're just having a few complications at the moment."

Several minutes later found the trio huddled together in the remains of an old shack, all deathly quiet and hoping they would be safe. So far they'd heard at least five Visorak pass by, and Pohatu and Gali feared there would be more moving past shortly. It didn't help that there had been several shuffle-like noises moving by already, though just what had caused them was anyone's guess. For the moment though, all was quiet… that is, until Takua sneezed. Gali flinched at the sudden noise and Pohatu winced. Within mere seconds, the sound of clicking could be heard drawing near, growing steadily louder until the sound of a Visorak's feet resounded from up on the roof above them. Gali's face went white as she, Pohatu, and Takua all turned their gaze to the ceiling. Takua huddling closer and giving a faint whimper as he whispered. "D-did they find us, Toa Gali?"

The fourteen year old didn't respond verbally. She merely wrapped her arms around the terrified Matoran and closed her eyes, begging and praying for this to not be the end. She heard Pohatu shift a little, most likely to stand up and ready himself for a fight. She felt Takua shiver and press himself tighter against her frame, holding onto her as tight as he could. Gali began to doubt, her hands shaky as she opened her eyes and looked at Pohatu. He was on his feet, seeming uneasy, but still prepared to fight for his life, as well as for Gali's and Takua's as well.

But that was when the ground began to shake. The Visorak on the roof hissed in alarm before screeching as something hit it, knocking it to the ground and leaving it motionless. The shuffling noise had returned, a hulking mass now standing in the shadow of the doorway as the dust shaken by the small bioquake began to settle. When it did, the trio found themselves staring at a hunched over wall of grey hide and muscle, its arms thick and its hands bearing claws at the ends of its fingers. A shaggy mane of black hair cascaded down around the being's head, reaching its chin and somewhat obscuring its face from view.

For several long moments, the creature merely looked them over before reaching into one of the pockets of its black cargo pants, and pulling out a lightstone. "Hey," a vaguely familiar voice asked as the light illuminated the creature's face. "You three okay?"

At first, the trio could only stare, Gali and Pohatu studying the creature's face and emerald colored eyes. "Uh…" Pohatu spluttered, unable to find real words. "I… um…"

Gali just blinked a few times before a weak smile formed on her face. "I think so… Thank you for saving us, Toa Whenua."

The grey and black Hordika gave a faint smile of his own in return. "Don't mention it."


	29. Chapter 28: Revealing the Unknown

Of all the ways Kopaka could have spent his afternoon, hiding from oversized wall-crawlers wasn't on his top ten list. Separated from the others and losing Makito somewhere during a tunnel collapse, the fifteen year old Toa of Ice was presently kneeling down on the roof of a low building, watching the Visorak as they scuttled around below, searching for their presently elusive quarry. Kopaka had to admit that the situation was quite in his favor for the present; he'd been able to set up a few traps and potential distractions, and so far the Visorak were moving precisely where he wanted them. Now all he needed was just the right moment to strike.

Down below, the Visorak were starting to spread out, clicking and chattering to each other as they hunted around for the missing Toa. Judging by the stray patches of frost on the ground and walls, he'd definitely been this way, and was likely still in the area. The only issue was actually tracking him down, as there were traces of him absolutely everywhere. Several were already starting to spread out, a few even starting to climb up the walls… triggering the collapse of a few buildings, crushing not only the Visorak on the walls, but also a few that were below them. Panic briefly scattered their ranks, sending the creatures chattering and fleeing in all directions. More buildings collapsed as the Rahi scuttled around, wiping out most of the remaining group.

Back on the roof, Kopaka watched carefully as all the chaos unfolded his eyes glowing faintly as he wielded his Akaku to see where all the Visorak were, as well as where he'd put his traps. He knew where quite a few of them were, but even still, it was easier to know which ice to manipulate when he could deal the most damage. So far, everything was working to his favor. Well, mostly. He'd hoped for a better result than what he'd gotten. As it was, there were still too many Visorak alive for him to try and take out directly, and presently none of the survivors were in range of the remaining traps.

That was when Kopaka saw that what fortune he'd had was running out. Three Visorak were now climbing the building he was presently on, and he had no traps to use that were safe enough to activate while he was there. Deactivating his mask, the fifteen year old quickly and quietly began to move, hoping he could find a better hiding spot than the one he was now being chased out of. This proved to be easier planned than executed, as part of the roof caved in underneath him, dropping the Toa down into the building and leaving him dazed - not to mention in pain – on the floor below. It was this resounding crash that truly betrayed him. Within seconds, the Visorak were crawling down around him, giving him very little time to stand up before he was surrounded. Kopaka held his sword and shield close, icy eyes narrowed and his gaze fixed on his adversaries. The young Toa held no fear in his expression, or concern, or anger. He held very little, in regard to emotion at least, and though he didn't want to admit it, he knew he was defeated. He was outnumbered by their six to his one, and now that he was somewhat dazed, it would be even better odds for the Visorak.

Gritting his teeth at the situation, and pain in his legs, Kopaka hurled a blast of ice from his sword, slashing in a horizontal direction and having the ice spray forth like large arrowheads. The Visorak in front of him quickly scuttled out of the way, the other four moving in and unleashing paralysis spinners. Kopaka narrowly managed to dodge, rolling behind a pillar-like section of the crumbly wall and lightly pressing his back against it. Drawing energy in by pulling coldness out of the air, the Toa of Ice quickly moved from his temporary hiding place, slashing at the nearest Visorak to him and managing to damage one of its legs badly enough to make it stumble, chattering in pain as it moved out of range. Three others moved in, forcing Kopaka to retreat again as they fired off more Rhotuka. The fifteen year old continued to try and take cover or avoid the attacks by other means, only realizing that they were cornering him when it was too late to escape. Pressed against the wall and holding his shield in front of him to try and last a little longer, Kopaka watched as the six Visorak closed in, all with Rhotuka at the ready, and all watching in case he had some other trick up his sleeve.

Without warning, the six Rahi lunged, one getting smashed off by Kopaka's shield when it outright jumped at him, and the other five launching their spinners. Unfortunately, all five hit. Kopaka let out a sharp yell as he was smashed against the wall, his now paralyzed frame falling limply to the cracked floor in an untidy heap. In a matter of mere moments they were upon him, moving to wrap him in webs… only to have something smash them all back. Whatever it was, it grabbed Kopaka before scuttling up the wall, carrying the paralyzed Toa out of the building while the Visorak recovered from the sudden attack. As for Kopaka, he was quite off guard too; from what he could see, he'd been saved from the Visorak, by the Visorak. Deciding this wasn't right, the fifteen year old blamed his confusion on the fact he'd been hit by five Rhotuka at once. As far as he knew, he was unconscious and dreaming that he'd been rescued. Yes, that must've been it. He was only imagining this was happening. The loud screeching of the infuriated Visorak behind them was only a figment of his imagination, and he was actually being taken to the Coliseum. Yes, that was probably how things were going.

At least, it seemed plausible right up until a Rhotuka smashed into the wall above them and showered Kopaka's head with dust and small bits of stone. That hurt too much to be a dream. Coughing faintly as he tried to re-focus himself, the young Toa gave up on making sense of his situation, trying to coat the wall behind his rescuer with ice, hoping it would slow down the other six, much less friendly Rahi. However, his present condition didn't let that plan work. Luckily enough though, the Visorak that was carrying him proved to be fast enough to stay ahead of the others.

Most of what happened next was a blur to Kopaka, as his mind and body were too weak to stay awake for very long, and as far as he could tell while he was conscious, his odd guardian had still been carrying him off to some unknown destination. The young Toa didn't really care much about it either, not until he had enough of his wits together to realize he was somewhere deep inside Ta-Metru, in what appeared to be a massive smelting furnace sort of area, though any machinery that had formerly been in use was long since abandoned. Slowly pushing himself into a sitting position – having been seemingly abandoned by the Visorak – and looking around, Kopaka frowned when he saw that he appeared to be very much on his own. "And I thought things couldn't get any harder to understand…" He muttered, his eyes glowing as he scanned the surroundings with his Akaku. Everything seemed to be sturdy enough that it wouldn't crash down on his head, and there didn't appear to be anyone else around…

Right up until he heard a low growl behind him. Within moments, Kopaka was on his feet, turning as quickly as his aching body would allow. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough, a powerless Rhotuka slamming into his chest and knocking him flat. Coughing loudly at the impact, as well as when he hit the floor, the Toa of Ice barely had a chance to react before a large, crimson scaled creature had him pinned. "If you know what's good for you," the being snarled lowly. "you won't fight back."

Kopaka's eyes narrowed as he studied his adversary's face. "So you took the forge attack personal, Vakama?" He asked coldly. "I thought you weren't the sort to hold grudges."

The Hordika's acid green eyes narrowed a little as well. "Do you honestly believe I wanted to do that? Your absence from Metru Nui has made you forget so much that it's almost laughable. If I were holding a grudge against you, you would already be dead."

The Toa of Ice snorted quietly, ice crawling up his arms from his fingertips and slowly progressing toward Vakama's hands. "You're doing a good job of proving otherwise. If you didn't want to, why are you doing this?"

Vakama was about to respond, but it was at that point that the ice tendrils had reached the Hordika's hands and stabbed through his scales, drawing out a yelp as he let go of Kopaka and instinctively pulled back, giving the previously pinned teenager a chance to get back on his feet. It wasn't hard to see he was still a bit disoriented, though he did his best to hide it as he commented. "Are we really doing this again?"

Vakama shook his head as his eyes shifted back to their normal color. "No, I'd rather not fight right now. Kopaka, consider your situation for a moment; you are dazed, likely injured, and probably very confused about why a Visorak saved you."

"Wait, how did you know about that?" The Toa of Ice questioned, now seeming bewildered as well as more uneasy. It didn't take him long to put it together. "… You sent it to find me?"

The Hordika smiled faintly as he sat down and loosely curled his long tail around himself, his expression somewhat pleasant despite his appearance. "Quite correct." He replied, his eyes holding mild amusement. "And you'll be wanting to thank Onua for that." On seeing Kopaka's utter confusion, Vakama laughed openly. "Long story short, the Visorak took a liking to your Brother and has been following him, and now you, in secret. He brought you to me, and now he's off playing with my nephew."

"You have a nephew?" Kopaka inquired, slowly sitting down and keeping his gaze fixed on the mutant in front of him. "That's news to me. Since when did this happen?"

"I don't think that it really matters at the moment." Vakama commented, sighing quietly as he shook his head. "What matters is that Roodaka gets stopped and everyone that got mutated gets returned to normal. Our Visorak friend is trying to locate the others so we can group up and take Roodaka and Sidorak out once and for all."

"And where are we meeting up?" He questioned. "Did you figure that out yet?"

"Yes." The mutant responded. "The Great Temple. The Visorak already cleared it out once; they aren't likely to strike again if they don't know we're in there. The trick will be getting everyone there without any trouble."

The fifteen year old frowned. "If the Great Temple was attacked, it's highly unlikely anyone will want to go back here." However, even as he spoke, he realized what the point of the situation was.

Vakama merely smiled. "Exactly."


	30. Chapter 29: A Plan Unfolding

"So that's our plan then?" Kopaka inquired, going over the situation carefully in his mind.

"It's the only one I've got." Vakama confessed. "I can't think of anywhere else that would be safe enough, or large enough, for everyone."

The fifteen year old nodded to show that he'd heard, though his expression showed that he thought something was amiss. "There's only one problem with your plan; how are we going to get everyone to go there?"

The Hordika gave him a grim and mysterious smile. "Leave that to me. But I need you to give me something first."

"And what might that be?"

Vakama didn't answer, though as he moved closer, Kopaka caught sight of the feral glint in the Hordika's eyes; a sure-fire sign that, whatever he wanted, it wasn't going to be fun handing over.

^v^v^v^v^v^v^

Tahu frowned as he looked back at the others. "Hurry; we don't know how long our luck is going to hold out." He didn't like how quiet things were; sure, the absence of Visorak was a vast relief, but for things to be this quiet, and for this long… It just felt off.

The others seemed to share his concern, Nokama in particular. Frowning as she ushered Matau and Hlahlu on ahead of her, she responded grimly. "We're hurrying, Tahu. Just stay focused on watching for danger; for all we know, we could be walking straight into a trap."

Hlahlu whimpered faintly. "Why are people trying to trap us? We didn't do anything wrong…" She looked nervously up at Matau. "Did we?"

The colorful Hordika shook his head, pausing briefly to give her a small hug. "Of course not; we're the Toa-Heroes, not the evilbad Rahi-spiders."

Tahu refrained from groaning as he scouted on ahead a little ways. As much as he was glad Matau had his girlfriend back, it was starting to grate on him just how little she could remember. It also reminded him of just how bad the rest of the trapped Matoran would be when they woke up, if not worse. He didn't like the odds, or the idea of having to teach them everything they used to know. And then trying to rebuild Metru Nui had to happen, a veritable nightmare in and of itself. It made him wonder if it was even worth the headache on top of everything else that had to happen.

The fifteen year old was about to voice this to the others, when he caught sight of something up ahead, just barely visible in a nearby alleyway. Was that Kopaka? Without even stopping to consider the situation, Tahu bolted forward, nearly reaching the alley… only to have the figure move further in, as though trying to lead him somewhere. Tahu kept following, determined to catch up. Why was Kopaka running away from him? This was no time for games! The more Tahu thought on it, the angrier he felt. "Kopaka this isn't funny!"

"We're almost there." Kopaka answered. "Just a little further."

Tahu broke into a full-out run. "Slow down!"

"Hurry up then."

The Toa of Fire rounded the last corner, livid by this point… up until he caught a powerless Rhotuka in the back, drawing out a yell as he was knocked forwards. Too dazed to move thanks to smashing his head on the uneven pavement, Tahu stared through watery eyes as he was rolled onto his back… Finding himself face to face with Vakama.

"Looking for something?" The Hordika sneered, dangling a familiar, blood-stained eyepiece where the boy could see it.

"Where is he…?" Tahu coughed out, squinting past his tears and glaring at Vakama. "I… I heard him…"

"Did you really?" The Hordika asked, smirking as a black Visorak moved into view. "All I heard was my Oohnorak messing with your mind, tugging your strings as if you were a pathetic little puppet."

Fury burned within Tahu now, but there was nothing he could do other than glare. "Did you kill him too? Write some fun little message on his back and dump his body somewhere for the others to find?"

"Kill Kopaka? No, he's very much alive. You'll be reunited with him soon enough." The sound of footsteps could now be heard, and Tahu could hear his name being called. For a split second, he felt hope, but then he saw Vakama smirking and it all vanished like smoke in a breeze. Within moments, he, his captor, and the Visorak were all up on the roof, just in time for Nokama, Matau, and Hlahlu to come into view below. "You're too late." Vakama gloated, hoisting Tahu by the back of his shirt so he was easier to see. "I've already got him."

"Vakama no!" Nokama gasped, her expression one of horror as she stared up at them. "You're better than this!"

The Fire Hordika laughed. "Am I? Am I really better than this? What's going to stop me from just gutting him here and now?"

"He's only a child!"

"Lhikan was only my father, and look what happened to him." Vakama waited just long enough for the horrified disgust to set in before continuing. "But, I suppose I could be merciful. Come to the Great Temple if you want Tahu back. If you're fast enough you might just get him back alive. Move extra fast and you might even save Kopaka." With that, he turned and carried Tahu over to the nearby Visorak and dropped him on top of it. What surprised Tahu was how lightly he was dropped. What surprised him even more was Vakama's look of concern and uncertainty. "Stay with the Visorak until you're at the Temple, Kopaka's fine and waiting for you. Sorry for the scare, bye!" And without another word, the Hordika took off like a bullet, leaving Tahu blinking after him.

"… The Karzahni was that all about?"

The whole trip to the Great Temple was spent in confused deliberation. In fact, Tahu only realized he was there when the Oohnorak literally bounced him off onto the doorstep. Blinking back to his senses, the Toa of Fire watched the Rahi scuttle off before remembering why he was there and entering the building, cautious and unsure of what was going to happen next. It looked as though a warzone had hastily been cleaned up, which was likely true, and at the far end of the room sat Kopaka, who was lazily amusing a four year old boy with a few scavenged building blocks. He looked up as soon as Tahu moved closer. "So Vakama found you." The Ice Toa remarked placidly, though there was an undeniable relief in his voice. "He didn't rough you up too badly, I hope?"

Tahu could only stare at him. Here he was, seeming perfectly fine and unharmed – other than the bandage on one of his hands – and even wearing his own, surprisingly clean, eye piece. "You're… You're okay? But Vakama said… and your mask… Kopaka what is going on here?"

"Vakama's getting everyone gathered together again." The Toa of Ice remarked, airily waving his hand. "And what about my mask? I've had it the whole time."

"But Vakama-"

"Made a fake. Honestly Tahu couldn't you figure that out when you saw me wearing this one?"

"The blood was real." The redhead protested sourly. "And how do you know Vakama's actually on our side? He could be doing this to try and trick everyone!"

"For the love of Mata Nui, keep your voice down." Kopaka sighed, shaking his head as he absently gave the child beside him another building block. "One would think you were upset about the whole thing."

"Well of course I am!" Tahu snapped. "I get tricked into thinking you were leading me somewhere, ambushed and threatened by Vakama, and the next thing I know, I'm here, you're perfectly fine, and Vakama is apparently 'playing nice' with us now? What is there that I shouldn't be upset about!?"

The pale one gave him a deadpan stare. "The act that I'm perfectly fine and that Vakama is 'playing nice'. Besides, would you have listened if he just showed up out of the blue and asked you to come here?"

"Eh… no?"

"Exactly. Now just relax; there's a whole plan sorted out already."

"There is?" Now Tahu was curious, a factor that was overriding his previous annoyance at the situation. "What is it?"

"Quite simple, really." Kopaka explained. "Once everyone is here, we'll split up into two teams; one leaves to hunt down Keetongu, and the other goes after Roodaka."

"Somehow I think Team One is the safer option."

"Theoretically, perhaps, but it is still likely to be dangerous. At any rate, that detail is going to be sorted out once everyone is here. In the meantime, we have a more important job."

"Oh? What job is that?"

Kopaka gave the ghost of an amused seeming smile. "Babysitting."


End file.
